How Cosmic Winds Stop Stars From Forming

Powerful cosmic winds can blow through galaxies, sweeping out interstellar material and stopping future star formation.

"The evidence for this is that dust filaments in the HST (Hubble Space Telescope) image look like taffy being stretched out," says Jeffrey Kenney. "We’re seeing this decoupling, clearly, for the first time." Above, Hubble Space Telescope image of a spiral galaxy in the Coma cluster. NASA, ESA, and Roberto Colombari

Powerful cosmic winds can blow through galaxies, sweeping out interstellar material and stopping future star formation.

An analysis of one such event in a nearby galaxy provided an unprecedented look at the process and offered a clearer snapshot of how it works.

Astronomers looked at the way the cosmic wind erodes gas and dust at the leading edge of the galaxy. The wind, or ram pressure, is caused by the galaxy’s orbital motion through hot gas in the cluster.