Galaxy's 'cannibalism' revealed 发现:星系“同类相食”
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2009-09-04 02:44 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

The vast Andromeda galaxy1 appears to have expanded by digesting stars from other galaxies2, research has shown.

研究发现,巨大的仙女座星云通过侵蚀其他星系的星体来扩张。

When an international team of scientists mapped Andromeda, they discovered stars that they said were "remnants(剩余,残余) of dwarf3 galaxies".

The astronomers5 report their findings in the journal Nature.

This consumption of stars has been suggested previously6, but the team's ultra-deep survey has provided detailed7 images to show that it took place.

This shows the "hierarchical(层次,层系) model" of galaxy formation in action.

The model predicts that large galaxies should be surrounded by relics8(遗物,遗迹) of smaller galaxies they have consumed.

The scientists charted the outskirts9(郊区) of Andromeda in detail for the first time.

They discovered stars that could not have formed within the galaxy itself.

Pauline Barmby, an astronomer4 from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, who was involved in the study, told BBC News the pattern of the stars' orbits revealed their origin.

"Andromeda is so close that we can map out all the stars," she said.

"And when you see a sort of lump(块状,瘤) of stars that far out, and with the same orbit, you know they can't have been there forever."

Andromeda, which is approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth, is still expanding, say the scientists.

The researchers also saw a "stream of stars" of a nearby galaxy called Triangulum "stretching(拉伸)" towards Andromeda.

Dr Scott Chapman, reader in astrophysics(天体物理学) at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, UK, was also involved in the research.

He said: "Ultimately, these two galaxies may end up merging10 completely.

"Ironically, galaxy formation and galaxy destruction seem to go hand in hand."

Nickolay Gnedin, an astrophysicist from the University of Chicago, US, who was not involved in this study, described the work as showing "galactic(星系的) archaeology11(考古学) in action".



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1 galaxy OhoxB     
n.星系;银河系;一群(杰出或著名的人物)
参考例句:
  • The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
  • The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。
2 galaxies fa8833b92b82bcb88ee3b3d7644caf77     
星系( galaxy的名词复数 ); 银河系; 一群(杰出或著名的人物)
参考例句:
  • Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
  • We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。
3 dwarf EkjzH     
n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小
参考例句:
  • The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
  • The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀,摇摇头。
4 astronomer DOEyh     
n.天文学家
参考例句:
  • A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
  • He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。
5 astronomers 569155f16962e086bd7de77deceefcbd     
n.天文学者,天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪,为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
7 detailed xuNzms     
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
参考例句:
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
8 relics UkMzSr     
[pl.]n.遗物,遗迹,遗产;遗体,尸骸
参考例句:
  • The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
  • Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。
9 outskirts gmDz7W     
n.郊外,郊区
参考例句:
  • Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
  • They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。
10 merging 65cc30ed55db36c739ab349d7c58dfe8     
合并(分类)
参考例句:
  • Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
  • To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。
11 archaeology 0v2zi     
n.考古学
参考例句:
  • She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
  • He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。
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