(ORDO NEWS) — An international team of astronomers has taken multi-wavelength photometric observations of a triplet of galaxies known as SIT 45.
SIT 45 (also known as UGC 12589) is an isolated galactic triplet composed of three late-type merging galaxies. It is located approximately 473 million light years from us.
A team of researchers led by Diana Grajales-Medina from the International University of Valencia in Spain studied the evolution of SIT 45, examining its dynamic properties and configuration, as well as its local environment and large-scale structure.
To this end, they analyzed data from various surveys, including the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) satellite imagery and the 2-micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS).
The study showed that SIT 45 is a highly isolated system with respect to its large scale environment.
In addition, it is one of the most compact triplets in the SIT database (SDSS-based catalog of Isolated Triplets). The value of its tidal force parameter is one of the highest in the SIT catalog.
The team found that one of the system’s galaxies, SIT 45C, is showing active star formation.
Overall, the three galaxies show a recent (about 200 million years old) increase in star formation, suggesting that it may have been driven by a merger process.
According to astronomers, the harmonic radius and SIT 45 crossing times, which are much shorter than other known SIT triplets, suggest that this is a highly advanced system.
SIT 45 was also found to be composed of blue spirals with a high star formation rate that could be embedded in dark matter halos.
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