Universe Cooling,Star Formation Declining,New Data โReveals
Recent analysis โฃof data from the European Space โคAgency’s (ESA) โEuclid โคand Herschel telescopes indicatesโ a long-term โคcooling trend in the universe and a corresponding slowdown in star formation. A teamโ of 175 international โฃscientists confirmed this decline byโฃ meticulously measuring the temperatureโข of stardust across 2.6 million โgalaxies.
Theโ research,โ currently awaiting peerโฃ review in Astronomy and Astrophysics, focused โon analyzing infrared โradiation to determine stardust temperatures. Results show anโข average cooling of 10 Kelvinโค (approximately -263 โคto โ-273 โdegrees celsius) across these galaxies over the past 10 billion years. Even this relatively small temperature decrease signals aโข significant reduction in the rate โขat which new stars are being born.
“The universe โฃwill only get colder โคand deader from now on,”โ explains cosmologist Douglasโค Scott of the University โขof British Columbia, a co-author of the โstudy.โฃ “The amount of dust in galaxies, and its โคtemperature, has been decreasing for billions ofโ years, indicating we’ve already โขpassed โคthe peak period of star formation.”
The study leveragesโข theโ capabilities of โขboth Euclid and Herschel.Euclid, which released its firstโค dataโ set in โMarch showcasingโข 26 โmillion galaxiesโค extending over 10.5 โฃbillion light-years, โobserved galaxies in visible and near-infrared light. โฃThis was combined โwith archival dataโฃ from Herschel, which observed โin far-infrared, allowing scientists to comprehensively measure stardust temperatures.
Lead author Ryley Hill notes theโข scale of the data set was crucial, stating, “Having such a large sampleโข of galaxiesโ allowed us to make the most statistically reliable calculations ever.”
Stardust isโ a vitalโ component of star โคformation,acting as the rawโ material for new stars when gravitational forces cause gas and dust cloudsโข toโ collapse and initiate nuclear fusion. Though, galaxies can lose theโ necessary gas and dust through processes โlike mergers, black hole โขactivity, and gas ejection, effectively halting star birth – a process โคknownโ as “quenching.”
The findings suggestโ the universe is entering a long-term “fading” phase, โthough thisโข doesn’t imply anโข immediate cessation of star โformation. Our ownโฃ Sun, and the Milky Way galaxy, โคwill continue forming stars for billions ofโค years.Even after stars cease to beโค born,โข structures like โฃblack holes are โexpected โฃto persist for trillions of years.
This research represents โฃa significant step towardsโข understanding the evolution โof the universe andโ the eventual fate โขof starโ formation within it, utilizing a massive datasetโฃ to paint a clearer picture of cosmic cooling.