Development of massive elliptical galaxies
This graphic shows the evolutionary sequence in the growth of massive elliptical galaxies over 13 billion years, as gleaned from space-based and ground-based telescopic observations. The growth of this class of galaxies is quickly driven by rapid star formation and mergers with other galaxies.
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Credit:NASA, ESA, and S. Toft (Niels Bohr Institute)
Illustration Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Toft (Niels Bohr Institute), and A. Feild (STScI)
Science Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Toft (Niels Bohr Institute), V. Smolcic (University of Zagreb), B. Magnelli (Argelander Institute for Astronomy), A. Karim (Argelander Institute for Astronomy and Durham University), A. Zirm (Niels Bohr Institute), M. Michalowski (University of Edinburgh and Universiteit Gent), P. Capak (California Institute of Technology), K. Sheth (National Radio Astronomy Observatory), K. Schawinski (ETH Zurich), J.-K. Krogager (Niels Bohr Institute and European Southern Observatory), S. Wuyts (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics), D. Sanders (University of Hawaii), A. Man (Niels Bohr Institute), D. Lutz (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics), J. Staguhn (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Johns Hopkins University), S. Berta (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics), H. McCracken (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris), J. Krpan (University of Zagreb), D. Riechers (Cornell University and California Institute of Technology), and G. Brammer (European Southern Observatory and STScI)
