* Astronomy

Dark Galaxies of the Early Universe Spotted for the First Time

For the first time, dark galaxies - an early phase of galaxy formation, predicted by theory but unobserved until now - may have been spotted. These objects are essentially gas-rich galaxies without stars. Using ESOs Very Large Telescope, an international team thinks they have detected these elusive objects by observing them glowing as they are illuminated by a quasar.
Dark galaxies are small, gas-rich galaxies in the early Universe that are very inefficient at forming stars. They are predicted by theories of galaxy formation and are thought to be the building blocks of todays bright, star-filled galaxies. Astronomers think that they may have fed large galaxies with much of the gas that later formed into the stars that exist today.
Read more