Barred Ring

how does this form?

Posted June 11, 2013 6:42 AM

It's not easy to answer that question, even in 1,000 words! Rings like this are thought to be the product of 'secular evolution', which is how a disk galaxy made up of stars (and some gas) will change over enough time, if left to itself (i.e. not involved in major mergers). Bars are - as far as I understand them - also possible, in disk galaxies (but I don't know any details). In a nutshell, when a large blob of gas (plasma) and dark matter is left to itself, stars form, and the blob settles down into a disk (due to conversation of angular momentum); the stars interact with the gas and dark matter, transferring mass (mostly ordinary matter) and momentum; where stars form, the structures in the matter distribution are visible.

Posted June 12, 2013 2:27 AM

by ajtillema in response to JeanTate's comment.

thank you for taking the time to explain that 😃

Posted June 15, 2013 7:53 AM