Astronomers saw "eye space" early stage of the formation of galaxies

Astronomers for the first time been able to "look" at the earliest stages of formation of galaxies in detail. This was reported on the official website of the University Durhama (Durham University), whose officers were involved in the study. Article scientists published in the journal Nature.

Using 10-meter telescope Keck, which is located in Hawaii and is equipped with a so-called adaptive optics, for correcting blur images of the Earth's atmosphere, researchers observed an object MACS J2135-0102. This object ( "space eyes") is located in the constellation Vodoleya and consists of two galaxies: one is about 2.2 billion light-years away, the other at a distance of more than 11 billion light years.

Thanks to 8-fold increase so-called gravitational lens created by neighbors object, the first time, scientists managed to study the internal structure of a young galaxy. According to the researchers obtained their data suggest that the cluster is gradually happening education galactic disk and the nucleus.

"Space-eye" was so named because the observer on the ground near the galaxy appears surrounded by halo (in photo), created by the light of further galaxy. Halo also occurs due to the effect of gravitational lenses.

Einstein's theory of relativity predicts that a large mass of an object (a galaxy or cluster of dark matter) bend the space around them. Light body, outside this facility warp and turn the massive obstacle. As a result, distant object is moving on its original position.