This image shows Abell 2052 in a composite of data with X-rays from Chandra (blue) and optical data from the VLT (gold). A huge spiral structure in the hot gas – spanning almost a million light years – is seen around the outside of the image. This spiral was created when a small cluster of galaxies smashed into a larger one that surrounds the central elliptical galaxy. The collision caused the hot gas in the cluster to be "sloshed" back and forth, similar to wine sloshing in a glass that was jerked sideways. This sloshing has important effects including impacting how the giant elliptical galaxy and its supermassive black hole grow.
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Revised: December 12, 2011