James Webb telescope and ALMA find CRISTAL-02 losing star-making fuel
Technology
Astronomers just found a huge, massive galaxy called CRISTAL-02 that is losing its star-making fuel way faster than it can use it.
Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA, they saw cold gas blasting out of the galaxy at double the rate it is forming new stars, which means CRISTAL-02 could stop making stars within less than 100 million years.
Mergers may quench star formation
Turns out, CRISTAL-02 likely formed through a merger involving multiple galaxies.
These cosmic collisions can trigger bursts of star-making but also powerful winds that blow away the gas needed for future stars.
This discovery challenges the old idea that only supermassive black holes are to blame for shutting down big galaxies: mergers might be a major player too.