While we perceive the Earth as being too big for all of us, the Galaxy is far bigger than any distance that we can ever travel during a lifetime. Having a diameter of over 100,000 light-years and several hundreds of billions of stars, our Milky Way galaxy might consider that it has to get rid of some of the cosmic objects.
While it seems like the most reasonable thought for a galaxy to have if, by some chance, it has consciousness, our galaxy might indeed push stars away, according to a recent study.
Computer simulations are the key
The Feedback in Realistic Environments 2 project allowed scientists to make an idea about disruptions from galaxies. Senior author James Bullock, dean of UCI’s School of Physical Sciences, explained the results:
These highly accurate numerical simulations have shown us that it’s likely the Milky Way has been launching stars in circumgalactic space in outflows triggered by supernova explosions,
It’s fascinating, because when multiple big stars die, the resulting energy can expel gas from the galaxy, which in turn cools, causing new stars to be born.
Sijie Yu, a UCI Ph.D. candidate in physics, explained that the computer simulations were showing the scientists that as the galaxy’s center is revolving, an amount of matter driven by supernova feedback is developing with stars forming at the edge. It seems like the stars are being kicked out from the center of the galaxy. The scientist further said:
The FIRE-2 simulations allow us to generate movies that make it seem as though you’re observing a real galaxy,
We don’t know for sure if the Milky Way actually does something similar, but we should consider ourselves lucky and privileged to be part of it since it’s the only known galaxy that hosts intelligent life.
The study was showcased in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
