Quenching (astronomy)

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/quenching-astronomy

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary mechanisms?Ram pressure stripping, AGN feedback, strangulation, galaxy harassment, in-situ gas consumption
2. What is the observational indicators?Red stellar populations, lack of cold molecular gas, elliptical or S0 morphology
3. What does it mean when a galaxy is "quenched"?Quenching means a galaxy stops making new stars. The cold gas that turns into stars is gone or unusable. The galaxy becomes quieter and older.
4. How does a galaxy lose the gas it needs to make new stars?A galaxy can lose its gas by moving through hot gas in a cluster, by being hit by other galaxies, by cutting off fresh gas supply, or by using up its gas slowly. These actions remove or heat the cold gas needed for stars.

Intergalactic Medium (IGM): The diffuse plasma and gas that exists between galaxies in a cluster or the wider universe.
Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN): A compact region at the center of a galaxy that has a much higher luminosity than its surrounding stellar population.
Galaxy Morphology: The classification of galaxies based on their visual appearance, such as spiral, elliptical, or irregular.