Galaxies Can Become Lifeless And Eventually Fade, Here's Why

Researchers have recently found out that supermassive black holes, which power hot interstellar winds in certain galaxies, fuel a type of galactic warming that destroys a galaxy's ability to create stars.  Barren galaxies, or red geysers as termed by scientists, are dead places which do not have fresh young stars.

The phenomenon that creates the dramatic transformation and makes certain galaxies desolate places has always baffled astronomers, in fact it is considered as one of the biggest mysteries in the evolution of galaxies.  However, now an international team of scientists have reportedly found a reason for the occurrence of red geysers.

Interstellar winds from supermassive black holes apparently subdue the creation of stars by warming up the ambient gas found in galaxies. Subsequently, the galaxies are not able to cool down or condense into stars. "Stars form from the gas, a bit like the drops of rain condense from the water vapor. And in both cases one needs the gas to cool down, for condensation to occur," said Michele Cappellari from the University of Oxford. "But we could not understand what was preventing this cooling from happening in many galaxies," Cappellari added.

The scientists came to their conclusion after studying two galaxies, a red geyser galaxy called Akira and its companion called Tetsuo, by studying the red geyser candidates in 3D. As per the research, it was found that Akira's gravity pulled Tetsuo's gas towards its central supermassive black hole, which fueled winds that could heat Akira's gas.  However, the gas from Tetsuo remained inert due to the action of the black hole winds, leading to the prevention of a new star formation cycle in Akira. The discovery suggests that galactic warming has a long term effect on red geyser galaxies, a behavior which was deemed similar to the consequence of global warming on Earth.