Using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and several other telescopes, astronomers have discovered a cosmic one-two punch unlike any ever seen in a pair of colliding galaxy clusters called Abell 3411 and Abell 3412. This result, described in our latest press release, shows that an eruption from a supermassive black hole combined with a galaxy cluster merger can create a stupendous cosmic particle accelerator.
This composite image contains X-rays from Chandra (blue) that reveals diffuse emission from multi-million-degree gas in the two clusters. The comet-shaped appearance of the hot gas provides clear evidence that the two clusters are colliding and merging. The "head" of the comet is hot gas from one cluster plowing through the hot gas of the other cluster, in the direction shown by the arrow in the labeled image.
Radio emission detected by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope in India (red) represents colossal shock waves — cosmic versions of sonic booms generated by supersonic aircraft — produced by the collision of the hot gas associated with the galaxy clusters. Optical data from the Subaru telescope atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii, shows galaxies and stars with a range of different colors.
This new image also shows three different supermassive black holes in galaxies located in the merging clusters. The upper one shows that a jet powered by a supermassive black hole is connected to large swirls of radio emission. The team of astronomers thinks this connection provides important information about how the radio emission was produced.
Fast Facts for Abell 3411 and 3412:
Scale: Image is 17 arcmin across (about 8.15 light years)
Category: Groups & Clusters of Galaxies, Black Holes
Coordinates (J2000): RA 08h 41m 47.69s | Dec -17° 28' 45.84"
Observation Date: 26 Jan 2006
Observation Time: 45 hours 46 min
Obs. ID: 17193, 17496, 17497, 17583-17585
References: van Weeren, R. et al, 2017, Nature Astronomy
Color Code: X-ray (Blue), Optical (Red, Green, Blue), Radio (Pink)
Distance Estimate: About 2 billion light years