NASA Hubble Telescope Captures Galaxy DDO 68 in New Image

NASA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a new image of the galaxy DDO 68 and has found that while at first glance it appears to be a recently-formed galaxy in our cosmic neighborhood, it could actually be far older. Yet if it is young, it could be the perfect example of a primordial galaxy in the local universe.

Astronomers have studied galactic evolution for decades, improving our understanding of how galaxies have changed over time. Yet imaging these galaxies isn't easy. While all newly-born galaxies lie very far away from us and appear small and faint, the galaxies near to us appear to be old ones. This means that a young-looking galaxy that's far away could be older since we're essentially looking into the distant past.

In the case of DDO 68, researchers believe that it's one of the best candidates for a newly-formed galaxy in our cosmic neighborhood. The galaxy lies about 39 million light-years away from Earth, which is roughly 50 times closer than the usual distance to similar galaxies.

Studying galaxies of various ages is an important part of understanding galactic evolution. In fact, scientists have already found that galaxies early in their lives are fundamentally different from those that are older. DDO 68 looks relatively youthful based on its structure and composition. That said, scientists plan to conduct more detailed modeling in order to make sure that it's not older than it appears.

Older galaxies tend to be larger due to collisions and mergers with other galaxies. They're usually populated with a wide variety of different types of stars, as well. Newly-formed galaxies, in contrast, have similar composition to the primordial matter created in the Big Bang.

DDO 68 is actually the best representation of a primordial galaxy in the local universe. It seems to be very low in heavier elements, the presence of which would be a sign of a previous generation of stars. That said, scientists plan to conduct more research before deciding whether it's old or young.