Abell 2597:
Chandra Finds Ghosts Of Eruption In Galaxy Cluster
When viewed by Chandra, the galaxy
cluster Abell 2597 showed a vast cloud of hot gas with
two dark cavities - upper left and lower right - about
100,000 light years from the bright center of the
cluster. These so-called ghost cavities are
thought to be 100 million-year-old relics of an ancient
eruption that originated around a massive black hole in
the core of a centrally located galaxy.
Though dim, the ghost cavities are not completely
empty. They contain a mixture of very hot gas,
high-energy particles, and magnetic fields - otherwise
the cavities would have collapsed under the pressure of
the surrounding hot gas. As they rise through the hot
gas like air bubbles in water, the ghost cavities may
transport magnetic fields to the cluster gas from a
disk surrounding a giant black hole.
If dozens of these cavities were created over the life
of the cluster, they could explain the surprisingly
strong magnetic field of the multimillion degree
Celsius gas that pervades the cluster. Indeed, there is
evidence that the explosion that produced the ghost
cavities was not a one-time event. A small, bright
radio source near the center of the cluster indicates
that a new explosion has occurred recently possibly
initiating the formation of new cavities.
| Fast Facts for Abell 2597:
|
| Credit |
NASA/CXC/Ohio U/B.McNamara
et al. |
| Scale
|
Image is 1.6 arcmin on a side.
|
| Category |
Groups
& Clusters of Galaxies |
| Coordinates
(J2000) |
RA 23h 25m 19.6s | Dec -12º
07' 27.4" |
| Constellation
|
Aquarius |
| Observation
Date |
July 28, 2000 |
| Observation
Time |
11.1 hours |
| Obs. ID
|
922 |
| Color Code
|
Intensity |
| Distance Estimate
|
About a billion light years |
|
Release Date
|
January 08, 2002
|
|
|
