Space
Rare Galaxy Cluster Has a Bursting Heart that Eats Gas Stolen from Other Galaxies
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Sep 10, 2015 03:22 PM EDT
Scientists have uncovered a rare galaxy cluster with a bursting heart. The new galaxy cluster is gargantuan, and has a core bursting with new stars that feed off of gas stolen from other galaxies.
Galaxy clusters are vast families of galaxies bound together by gravity. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, resides within a small galaxy group known as the Local Group, which itself is a member of the massive Laniakea supercluster. Galaxies at the centers of clusters are usually made out of old, red or dead stars. However, this new giant galaxies seems to break this rule.
The giant galaxy at the heart of the cluster has been named SpARCS1049+56. It was initially discovered with the help of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Follow-up observations with Hubble allowed the astronomers to explore the galaxy's activity in more depth.
"We think the giant galaxy at the center of this cluster is furiously making new stars after merging with a smaller galaxy," said Tracy Webb, one of the researchers, in a news release.
In fact, the cluster houses at least 27 galaxies and has a combined mass equal to about 400 trillion suns. The cluster's brightest galaxy is rapidly forming about 800 new stars per year.
"Building on our other observations we used Hubble to explore the galaxy in depth-and we weren't disappointed," said Adam Muzzin, one of the researchers. "Hubble found a trainwreck of a merger at the center of this cluster. We detected features that looked like beads on a string."
Beads on a string are actually telltale signs of something known as a wet merger. Wet mergers occur when gas-rich galaxies collide-this gas is converted quickly into new stars.
Currently, the researchers hope to explore how common this type of growth mechanism is in galaxy clusters, and to see whether this is rare, or if there are others out there.
The findings are published in The Astrophysical Journal.
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First Posted: Sep 10, 2015 03:22 PM EDT
Scientists have uncovered a rare galaxy cluster with a bursting heart. The new galaxy cluster is gargantuan, and has a core bursting with new stars that feed off of gas stolen from other galaxies.
Galaxy clusters are vast families of galaxies bound together by gravity. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, resides within a small galaxy group known as the Local Group, which itself is a member of the massive Laniakea supercluster. Galaxies at the centers of clusters are usually made out of old, red or dead stars. However, this new giant galaxies seems to break this rule.
The giant galaxy at the heart of the cluster has been named SpARCS1049+56. It was initially discovered with the help of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Follow-up observations with Hubble allowed the astronomers to explore the galaxy's activity in more depth.
"We think the giant galaxy at the center of this cluster is furiously making new stars after merging with a smaller galaxy," said Tracy Webb, one of the researchers, in a news release.
In fact, the cluster houses at least 27 galaxies and has a combined mass equal to about 400 trillion suns. The cluster's brightest galaxy is rapidly forming about 800 new stars per year.
"Building on our other observations we used Hubble to explore the galaxy in depth-and we weren't disappointed," said Adam Muzzin, one of the researchers. "Hubble found a trainwreck of a merger at the center of this cluster. We detected features that looked like beads on a string."
Beads on a string are actually telltale signs of something known as a wet merger. Wet mergers occur when gas-rich galaxies collide-this gas is converted quickly into new stars.
Currently, the researchers hope to explore how common this type of growth mechanism is in galaxy clusters, and to see whether this is rare, or if there are others out there.
The findings are published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Related Stories
Celeste May Change the Way Scientists View and Study the Universe
The Most Distant and Earliest Galaxies in the Universe Spotted with Hubble
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone