# astro: unexpectedly large dust and gas inside

<< Despite having low star formation rates, the elliptical galaxies contain surprisingly large amounts of gas: 100 times more than was expected. This is surprising in two ways. It challenges our standard view of elliptical galaxies as “boring” gas-poor objects. But it also forces us to rethink the basic view of star formation processes – we have always assumed that the presence of cold gas must lead to star formation. Here, we find that elliptical galaxies form stars far less efficiently than disk galaxies at the same epoch. >>

Marie Martig. Study of distant galaxies challenges our understanding of how stars form. Jan 19, 2018.

https://theconversation.com/study-of-distant-galaxies-challenges-our-understanding-of-how-stars-form-90147  

Gobat R, Daddi E, et al.  The unexpectedly large dust and gas content of quiescent galaxies at z > 1.4. Nature Astronomy. doi: 10.1038/s41550-017-0352-5. Jan 15, 2018.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-017-0352-5