January 12, 2021 / 12:59 PM.
Astronomers have, for the first time, witnessed the death of a distant galaxy, which they describe as a "truly extreme event." .
When all of the stars in a galaxy die, and new ones are no longer forming, the galaxy itself ceases to exist.
Astronomers say that ID2299 is losing 10,000 suns worth of gas each year — rapidly depleting fuel needed to form new stars.
The galaxy is also currently forming stars at a rate hundreds of times faster than the Milky Way — using up the rest of its precious gas supply.
"This is the first time we have observed a typical massive star-forming galaxy in the distant universe about to 'die' because of a massive cold gas ejection," lead author Annagrazia Puglisi said in a statement. .
Astronomers believe the phenomenon is the result of galaxies merging because they were able to witness a rare "tidal tail," usually too faint to see in distant galaxies
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