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Galaxy Cluster Collision Created 1.6 Million Mile Shockwave
Space.com
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29/05/2025
NASA Chandra X-ray telescope data from galaxy cluster Abell 2146 showed a "shockwave that stretches for some 1.6 million miles," that was created by a collision with another cluster.
Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart
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00:00
Visit Chandra's Beautiful Universe, Abel 2146.
00:09
Galaxy clusters are among the largest structures in the universe,
00:14
containing hundreds of galaxies and huge amounts of hot gas and dark matter.
00:19
Sometimes these gigantic objects collide with one another,
00:23
and when they do, they release enormous amounts of energy,
00:26
unlike anything witnessed since the Big Bang.
00:30
These galaxy cluster collisions also provide scientists with physics laboratories
00:34
that are unavailable here on Earth.
00:38
A new study of the galaxy cluster collision, known as Abel 2146,
00:43
uses a very long look, about 23 days' worth of observing time,
00:47
from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
00:50
X-rays are particularly important in studying galaxy clusters
00:54
because they detect the massive amounts of hot gas
00:57
that fills the spaces between the galaxies themselves.
01:01
When researchers analyzed the Chandra data of Abel 2146,
01:06
they found a shockwave that stretches for some 1.6 million miles.
01:11
The shockwave, which is similar to a sonic boom created by a jet plane,
01:16
was generated by the hot gas from one cluster pushing on the other.
01:20
There is also a second shockwave detected behind the collision.
01:26
Shockwaves like those generated by a supersonic jet are collisional shocks,
01:31
meaning they involve direct collisions between particles.
01:35
Near sea level, the Earth's atmosphere is dense enough
01:39
so that gas particles typically travel only about 100 billionth of a meter
01:43
before colliding with another particle.
01:47
This is usually not the case in space.
01:50
In galaxy clusters, and in the solar wind,
01:53
streams of particles blown away from the sun,
01:56
direct collisions between particles occur too rarely to produce shockwaves
02:00
because the gas has incredibly low density.
02:04
For example, in galaxy clusters,
02:07
particles typically must travel about 30,000 to 50,000 light-years before colliding.
02:13
Instead, the shocks in these cosmic environments are collisionless
02:17
and are generated by interactions between charged particles and magnetic fields.
02:24
Collisionless shockwaves are important
02:26
in several other fields of research beyond astrophysics.
02:30
For example, the radiation produced by shocks in the solar wind
02:34
can negatively impact commercial and military spacecraft operation
02:38
as well as the safety of humans in space.
02:42
This study shows a deep connection between some of the largest,
02:46
most energetic events and much smaller ones closer to home.
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