Breakthrough: The Galaxy Hunter

Watch all 6 new episodes of Breakthrough at http://www.breakthroughfilms.org
Scientists have strong and tested theories about how most galaxies in the universe formed. But sometimes, one is found and defies all known assumptions.

This was the case for astrophysicist Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil, who discovered an extremely odd-shaped galaxy in the background of a broad survey of the sky. The galaxy in question had a central body surrounded by an elliptical outer ring of stars, unconnected to the core. This is an extremely rare phenomenon—1 in 1,000 galaxies take on this configuration, conservatively. But Mutlu-Pakdil looked closer and lo and behold—the galaxy had not one, but two rings—a completely new kind of galaxy!

Based on the existing research, Mutlu-Pakdil thought this type of object couldn’t exist. But as a person who has defied expectations, it was fitting that she would discover a celestial object with a little regard for convention.

Since she was a young girl, Mutlu-Pakdil had looked up at the stars and dreamt of studying the universe. But that dream had its limits in her culture. She grew up as a devout Muslim in Turkey, at a time when headscarves were banned at colleges and other public institutions. But she persisted and went on to become a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory.

Today, Mutlu-Pakdil studies unusual galaxies of a different kind—dwarf galaxies. Using an array of telescopes in Chile, she hopes to find more of these fast-spinning objects and learn what they can reveal about how galaxies are formed.
Produced in collaboration with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios

Directed and Produced by
Chelsea Fiske

Director of Photography
Brandon Swanson

Edited by
Chelsea Fiske


Animations by
Lottie Kingslake

Music by
Audio Network


Series Producer
Luke Groskin

Additional Photos And Videos by
NASA, ESA, STScI, Hubble, the Hubble Heritage Team,
AURA, NOAO, NSF, JPL-Caltech, ESO, Digitized Sky Survey 2,
Sloan Digital Sky Survey, WikiSky, DECam, DSS2, NAOJ, A. Aloisi, Nick Risinger,
Giuseppe Donatiello, M. Kornmesser, F. Summers, J. DePasquale, G. Bacon,
Z. Levay, H. Ferguson, A. Koekemoer, the CANDELS Team,
C. Malin (christophmalin.com), KIPAC/Stanford/AMNH, Kevin Keating,
Adam Block, du Pont telescope at Las Campanas Observatory,
Penn Museum, Valerie Coit (University of Minnesota Duluth),
Pond5, “Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil: A rare galaxy that’s challenging
our understanding of the universe” byTED2018,
Babak Tafreshi, Michael Carroll, Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil

Project Advisors for HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
Richard Stone
and Aileen O’Hearn

Project Support for Science Friday Initiative by
Danielle Dana, Jennifer Fenwick, Ariel Zych
Nadja Oertelt, Kyle Marian Viterbo, Diana Montano
Daniel Peterschmidt, Xochitl Garcia, Nahima Ahmed

Special Thanks
to Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil, The Mutlu Family, The Fiske Family,
Tom Fleming, Steward Observatory, NOAO

Видео Breakthrough: The Galaxy Hunter канала SciFri