Green pea galaxy provides insights to early universe evolution
http://phys.org/news/2016-01-big-revealed-early-universe.html
Newly formed dwarf galaxies were likely the reason that the universe heated up about 13 billion years ago, according to new work by an international team
of scientists that included a University of Virginia researcher. The finding opens an avenue for better understanding the early period of the universe's
14 billion year history.
Using data from an ultraviolet spectrometer aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, the team discovered a nearby compact dwarf galaxy emitting a large number of
ionizing photons into the intergalactic medium, or the space between galaxies. Scientists believe those photons are responsible for the universe's re-ionization.
"This galaxy appears to be an excellent local analog of the numerous dwarf galaxies thought to be responsible for the reionization of the early universe," Trinh
said. "The finding is significant because it gives us a good place to look for probing the reionization phenomenon, which took place early in the formation of
the universe that became the universe we have today."
