Astronomers Might Use Manganese to Clock the Age of Galaxies
Keeping track of time in the universe is a difficult task. It’s constantly evolving and changing, and studying events that happened billions of years ago, while possible, isn’t exactly easy. A recent paper in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society from astronomers at The Ohio State University has unlocked a whole new way to tell time in space by using a new, perhaps unexpected…
Astronomers may have discovered a new method to measure the age of galaxies by utilizing manganese, an element with a crucial role in human biology. This innovative approach, detailed in a recent paper from The Ohio State University, could revolutionize the way scientists study the universe's history. Manganese, though relatively rare compared to iron, emits ultraviolet light that is challenging to detect from Earth, making it an ideal candidate for tracking galaxy evolution.
The researchers' computational analysis revealed that manganese forms more rapidly in Type Ia supernovae, which occur billions of years after the deaths of stable stars. By measuring the manganese-to-iron ratio in the early universe, scientists can effectively "clock" the age of galaxies and star formation. This exciting development could be further enhanced by the James Webb Space Telescope's ability to capture infrared and near-infrared light, providing astronomers with a powerful new tool to measure the age of distant galaxies.
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