Formation and Evolution of Galaxies
a 13.8 billion year history
JWST
87 galaxies in this image formed between 200 and 400 million years after the Big Bang
- Extrapolations estimate more galaxies than expected
- Many producing too much light
Age based on Doppler Shift of light
Formation of the Milky Way
Formation
- Oldest regions date to 13.61 billion years old
- Determined by radioactive decay of thorium-232 and uranium-238
- Globular cluster collions
- Similar to planetary formations
- Increases mass
- Flattens out
- Starts rotating around a center of mass
Dark Matter
Galaxies have too
- much mass
- high of a rotational velocity
All visible matter collects in halos of dark matter
- Referred to as 'Cosmic web'
- Resulting formation is like neurons
- Body, dendrites, and axons
- Recent data suggests shockwaves can pass through the structures magnetic field
Composition of the Universe
Milky Way Mergers
- Magellenic Clouds (large and small) in ~2.5 billion years
- Andromeda Galaxy in ~4 billion years
Future
Local Group and Supercluster