Collisions between stars is a integral part of the universe, ranging from routine passes to extremely rare interactions that change the balance of the Galaxy.
As the name suggests, a collision is a violent encounter between two objects. The passageway between stars is no exception, and occurs at high speed as it orbits its companions.
A collision can happen multiple times, leading to an epic Supernova or a victories for one of the involved objects over another. The most famous example is the encounter between our Sun and Earth during Earth’s formation in the early solar system.
Today, we will focus on more modest impacts, but they can still be spectacular! When these encounters occur at high enough speeds, they can create intense shockwaves that rupture large parts of the object.
These events are rare compared to a regular collision, but they do exist! Luckily for us, they are easy to detect.
Galaxy collisions were more common in the past
Over the past few thousand years, we have had airplanes, rockets, and space stations. This has enabled us to explore and learn more about the stars and galaxies.
As a result, galaxy collisions have increased as astronauts have observed them while exploring distant worlds. Today, this is more common than it was in the past.
When two galaxies collide, they can sometimes generate powerful light forces that can destroy anything in their path. These forces can cause significant damage to our own galaxy as well as other galaxies.
This is what createsstrokes, or brightoutbursts. When these occur, they can be very powerful and could kill large numbers of people on Earth if they were not protected by a sturdy pair of glasses.
Today, collisions are less common
This is a tough question to answer, and not just because we don’t see them anymore.
It seems like every hour, a new one is documented, making it one of the more prevalent phenomena in the universe today. There are even community groups dedicated to finding them.
The search has recently come to a standstill, however, due to lack of interest in recent years. The effects of space exploration have lost popularity and are in decline, making it more rare than ever before.
If you were asked what phenomenon you would want to find, the answer most likely would be a collision-induced black hole or collision between neutron and light sources.
Black hole collisions are even more rare
The rate of galaxy collisions is much lower today than it was billions of years ago. This may be due to the invention of the smartphone.
Prior to the widespread adoption of smartphones, people had more ways to contact one another and learn about new galaxies and stars. They also had a more unrestricted view as to what parts of the galaxy were inhabited and what else was going on inside it.
The availability of a quick way to communicate was an important part of how quickly galaxies grew in size and number over time.
Since most people now have a difficult time finding a way to get their phone out and look at a new galaxy for themselves, it has stayed relatively rare. This has caused fewer collisions between galaxies as people have grown into older age spots have gone out-of-business.
Could lead to burst of cosmic rays
The term radioisotope refers to the fact that it must be converted into an electrical signal before it can be used. This process is called formatting or transforming a isotope into a radiation form.
When this happens, it changes the isotope from its original color to white, and makes it much harder to convert into an electrical signal.
This is why checking your email or messaging app has to be so difficult! You have to wait for the app to format and then send or receive something.
The problem with radioisotopes is that they can no longer be converted into an electrical signal. This is why computers cannot check emails or messaging apps cannot send messages until they format and receive an email or message.
Could lead to star formation
The process by which small pieces of metal are converted into stars is called “metallization.” When iron is combined with oxygen, it forms iron elements and free radicals.
These elements can stick to one another and formStars, or even planets! This happens in a process known as stellar evolution.
However, because the main use for gold today is as jewelry, it is not widely used. Most countries today rely on silver instead. If gold had been more popular in the past, then more galaxy collisions would have resulted in star formation.
That is not a bad thing though! As more star formation occurs, more new galaxies come out and meet our own to form new stars.
Helps explain isotropic diffuse gamma-ray sources
Isotropic diffuse gamma-ray sources are unusual in that they do not exhibit any regular distribution of energy. These sources appear to be scattered throughout the universe as a result of their gamma-ray emission.
Normally, when a source is emitting radiation, it is bathed in an energy field that confines and directs its rays. This field, known as the electromagnetic beam field, lies outside of our physical space-time.
However, when a Gamma Ray Source is forming, it may still be contained within a large cocoon of dust and gas surrounding its original source. When this cover dissipates, it allows free access to the inside of the source.
This opening up allows more freefalling gases to enter the cavity and redirect the radiation back out into space.
Challenges big bang theory
A second challenge that stars have, especially in close proximity is the challenge of being too close for comfort. When two stars are very large and well-known to each other, it can be difficult for them to move away from one another quickly.
This is why famous stars often hang out together in professional and personal contexts. They gain a little bit of protection from the rest of the galaxy as they protect each other from any threats. As they grow closer, they gain a bigger protection zone!
Another challenge that large galaxies face is the effect of gravitational lensing. This describes the situation in which because of a larger mass-accretion process,a photoelectric emission line is curved by an object so strong, it refracts and focuses light coming from much else nearby into that source.
This causes these objects to look like they are physically overlapping at different times, which results in a supernova or other type of explosion.
