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SteadyStater
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- TL;DR Summary
- Newly discovered galaxy revives the Steady State Model of cosmogenesis.
Young Galaxy Comes to the Rescue of an Old Theory
The Steady State Theory of the universe has taken on a new lease of life with the discovery in 2014 of galaxy DDO 68, a dwarf galaxy 39 million light years away which, based on its structure, appearance and composition, appears to be relatively youthful. Could this spell “Bye bye Big Bang”?
The Steady State Theory postulates that as new space is created throughout the universe (which is the cause of the universe’s expansion) new matter is simultaneously created, such as a random scattering of hydrogen atoms. Irregular dwarf galaxies would be the likely outcome from the clumping together of these gas clouds. Galaxy DDO 68 may be one such galaxy.
Other candidates could be even closer to home: the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy, and the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy. It is worth noting that the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy was discovered as recently as 1994, and the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy not until 2003; yet all four of these dwarf galaxies are so close as to be satellites of the Milky Way Galaxy.
There might therefore be millions of such dwarf galaxies between or in orbit around larger galaxies, as yet undetected. Over time, many of them would merge to form a larger galaxy, thus allowing for the universe to remain in a relatively steady state while yet expanding in every direction.
The presence of older stars in these dwarf galaxies has led to the assumption that they are as old as most large galaxies, but there is a mechanism which could explain the presence of older stars in a young, newly formed dwarf galaxy: the adoption of orphan stars. Many stars within the Milky Way are observed to be moving at a high velocity with respect to their neighbouring stars. It is thought that they have either been accelerated by the slingshot effect as they passed near another star, or were a member of a binary system, and were hurled away when their larger partner exploded as a supernova. Many of these rogue stars must get expelled from every galaxy throughout its history, especially if the galaxy were to pass close to or collide with another galaxy.
As a result, there are likely to be millions of such orphan stars in intergalactic space, and many of them would be absorbed into a newly forming dwarf galaxy. Or they might, especially if they were in a cluster, form the nucleus around which a new dwarf galaxy would form. An orphan planet could also act as a nucleus without absorbing any gas, as a star would.
Additionally, dwarf galaxies in orbit around a large galaxy, such as those mentioned above, could have gathered in many older stars from their interaction with the larger, older galaxy. Eventually these dwarf galaxies would merge with the larger galaxy, a process which we see happening in our own Milky Way Galaxy.
The discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation has been taken as supporting evidence for the Big Bang model. But what if it were in fact the “noise” being constantly produced everywhere from the creation of new space and matter? Then it would instead support the Steady State model.
Another discovery that made the Steady State model less popular was the greater proportion of radio galaxies found at far distances. If the universe were expanding and being renewed at a steady rate, there should be an even spread of such galaxies from the earlier to the recent universe. But does any process in nature continue for billions of years at a steady rate? Perhaps there was an epoch of more rapid creation of gas some 12 billion years ago.
Which brings us to the question of just when did the universe begin. Big Bang proponents put the moment of cosmogenesis at around 13.8 billion years ago. But one significant finding that contradicts this is the discovery of large black holes in far distant galaxies. If these galaxies formed only a few million years after the big bang, there would not have been time for large black holes to form. Perhaps, then, the universe is very much older than is currently thought.
Such a possibility is worthy of investigation, and there are at least four ways in which the Steady State model could be more rigorously tested. Firstly, by searching for dwarf galaxies in a selected nearby region of intergalactic space, and looking for indications of their age, and to what extent they are merging together.
Secondly, by searching for orphan stars in the same region and making an estimate of their number and in what way they may be interacting with dwarf galaxies. It may require new generation telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, to carry out these two searches.
Thirdly, measure as accurately as possible the age of the, say, 500 galaxies nearest to us. It may turn out that there are younger galaxies interspersed among older ones. And the researchers shouldn’t be nonplussed if they happen to discover a star or two that are actually older than 13.8 billion years!
And fourthly, if new matter is steadily being created everywhere, it might be possible to detect it using a large, well-sealed vessel. If the proportions of the various atmospheric gases within the vessel were found to change even slightly over time—especially if that change were an increase in the proportion of hydrogen—Steady State supporters might feel justified in standing steady in the face of all the current Big Bang artillery.
But are the two models really mutually exclusive? We may eventually come to the conclusion that the universe did indeed start with a hot big bang, but many billions or even trillions of years in the past, and that it has been steadily expanding ever since, while yet maintaining a steady density of matter.
Thus the “Big Bang Steady” model presents the possibility of victory to both camps.
Bruce Lusher, Uttar Kashi, India; 12 January 2020