Studying interacting galaxies like these will shed light on the way new stars can be formed well outside a
normal galactic environment, the researchers said.
That's because the
current galactic environment is full of magnetic fields and turbulence, both of which greatly complicate the creation of accurate simulations.
«What's the nature of
the galactic environment in terms of cosmic rays and magnetic fields?»
It will help astronomers test their theories for how stars end their lives and how the heavier elements forged within these dying stars are recycled into
the galactic environment to help create the next generation of stars.
«This is a very exceptional object: it's huge, at least twice as large as any nebula detected before, and it extends well beyond
the galactic environment of the quasar,» said Sebastiano Cantalupo, first author of the paper and a postdoctoral fellow at UC Santa Cruz.
No GCM data or feedback inputs can possibly take account of the huge number of unknown variables that occur within and of our solar system, never mind the inestimable cosmic activities taking place in
the galactic environment that directly impinge upon the Earth's climate system.