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A recently discovered breed of galaxies really caught astronomers'attention.
最近一種星系的發現引起了天文學家的額外注意。
Because they look like jellyfish.
因為它們看起來很像水母。
Astronomers found the first jellyfish galaxy a decade ago.
天文學家第一次發現這種水母星系是在10年以前。
Such a galaxy has a disk of stars, like our Milky Way—plus long blue tendrils.
這種水母星系的圓盤由星體組成，就像銀河系長長的藍色卷須一樣。
A jellyfish galaxy was once a spiral like the Milky Way, spawning new stars from its gas and dust.
而就如同銀河星系一樣，原本螺旋狀的水母星系從它的氣體和塵埃中創造新的恒星。
But unlike the Milky Way, a jellyfish belongs to a cluster of galaxies.
但是不同的是水母星系屬于一個星系團。
A recent analysis of Hubble telescope images led to the conclusion that extremely hot gas from the cluster is behind the formation of jellyfish.
目前經過哈勃太空望遠鏡所拍攝圖片分析所得出的結論是來自星團的熾熱氣體是在水母星系群后面。
That study is in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
這項研究已經在《天體物理學》雜志上發表。
As the galaxy plows through space, this hot gas rips out the galaxy's own gas and dust, forming the long streamers behind the galaxy.
當該星系穿過太空時，這股熱氣把該星系自己的氣體和塵埃扯碎，在星系后形成長長的飄帶。
This torn-out gas still gives birth to new stars.
而被撕扯下來的氣體形成新的恒星。
The brightest of these newborn stars shine blue.
其中最明亮的新星發出藍色的光芒。
So the former disc-shaped galaxy metamorphosizes into a celestial jellyfish sporting long blue tendrils.
所以以前圓片形的星系變成一個飄著長長的綠色卷須的水母星系。
The galaxy will eventually literally run out of gas, and thus lose the ability to create any more new stars.
這個星系最終將會耗盡自身，喪失創造更多新星的能力。
Jellyfish in the sea can be deadly.
海里的水母可以置人于死地。
But in space, the mortally wounded victim is the jellyfish galaxy itself.
然而在太空里，可以對水母星系造成致命傷害的卻是自己本身。
