Galaxy Cluster Collision Created 1.6 Million Mile Shockwave

Space.com

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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00:00Visit Chandra's Beautiful Universe, Abel 2146.

00:09Galaxy clusters are among the largest structures in the universe,

00:14containing hundreds of galaxies and huge amounts of hot gas and dark matter.

00:19Sometimes these gigantic objects collide with one another,

00:23and when they do, they release enormous amounts of energy,

00:26unlike anything witnessed since the Big Bang.

00:30These galaxy cluster collisions also provide scientists with physics laboratories

00:34that are unavailable here on Earth.

00:38A new study of the galaxy cluster collision, known as Abel 2146,

00:43uses a very long look, about 23 days' worth of observing time,

00:47from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.

00:50X-rays are particularly important in studying galaxy clusters

00:54because they detect the massive amounts of hot gas

00:57that fills the spaces between the galaxies themselves.

01:01When researchers analyzed the Chandra data of Abel 2146,

01:06they found a shockwave that stretches for some 1.6 million miles.

01:11The shockwave, which is similar to a sonic boom created by a jet plane,

01:16was generated by the hot gas from one cluster pushing on the other.

01:20There is also a second shockwave detected behind the collision.

01:26Shockwaves like those generated by a supersonic jet are collisional shocks,

01:31meaning they involve direct collisions between particles.

01:35Near sea level, the Earth's atmosphere is dense enough

01:39so that gas particles typically travel only about 100 billionth of a meter

01:43before colliding with another particle.

01:47This is usually not the case in space.

01:50In galaxy clusters, and in the solar wind,

01:53streams of particles blown away from the sun,

01:56direct collisions between particles occur too rarely to produce shockwaves

02:00because the gas has incredibly low density.

02:04For example, in galaxy clusters,

02:07particles typically must travel about 30,000 to 50,000 light-years before colliding.

02:13Instead, the shocks in these cosmic environments are collisionless

02:17and are generated by interactions between charged particles and magnetic fields.

02:24Collisionless shockwaves are important

02:26in several other fields of research beyond astrophysics.

02:30For example, the radiation produced by shocks in the solar wind

02:34can negatively impact commercial and military spacecraft operation

02:38as well as the safety of humans in space.

02:42This study shows a deep connection between some of the largest,

02:46most energetic events and much smaller ones closer to home.

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