Scientists have noticed a galaxy in which a black hole is growing, and stars continue to be born

The galaxy, named CQ 4479, is still forming many new stars. At the same time, in its center there is also

an actively feeding supermassive black hole.He could have already stopped star formation in the galaxy. However, this will happen in a few hundred million years, astronomers reported at a virtual meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Studying this and other galaxies will help scientists figure out exactly how such galaxy “blackouts” occur.

"How exactly galaxies die is an open question," said astrophysicist Allison Kirkpatrick of the University of Kansas at Lawrence. "Object CQ 4479 can help us better understand this process."

According to the main theories, the formation of stars inceases due to the influence of a supermassive black hole located in the center, or due to a currently unknown mechanism. Galaxies begin to fade in the center, and then this process spreads to the periphery. At the edges of galaxies, stars fade out much longer than those in the center.

However observationsfor CQ 4479 confirms general ideas about how galaxies die, astronomer Alexandra Pope of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who was not involved in the new work, said in an interview with Science News. Given that galaxies eventually turn off their star formation, it makes sense that there would be a transition period. The data obtained are “confirmation of this important phase in the evolution of galaxies,” she is sure. A closer look at the coolest quasars in galaxies will help astronomers figure out how quickly star factories are dying.

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