Narrator (April Hobart, CXC): Galaxy clusters are the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity. They consist of huge reservoirs of hot gas that glow in X-ray light as well as hundreds or even thousands of individual galaxies, plus unseen dark matter. Understanding how clusters grow is critical to tracking how the Universe itself evolves over time.
A new result involving the system named Abell 1033 is providing another piece to this astronomical puzzle. Located about 1.6 billion light years from Earth, Abell 1033 is the site of the collision of two galaxy clusters. By combining X-ray data from Chandra along with radio and optical data, astronomers have found evidence that Abell 1033 is what is called a "radio phoenix." What does this mean? Astronomers think a supermassive black hole close to the center of Abell 1033 underwent an eruption in the past. Streams of high-energy electrons filled a region hundreds of thousands of light years across and produced a cloud of bright radio emission. This cloud faded over a period of millions of years as the electrons lost energy and the cloud expanded.
The radio phoenix emerged when another cluster of galaxies slammed into the original cluster, sending shock waves through the system. These shock waves, similar to sonic booms produced by supersonic jets, passed through the dormant cloud of electrons. The shock waves compressed the cloud and re-energized the electrons, which caused the cloud to once again shine at radio frequencies. Just as the phoenix rises from its ashes in the stories of mythology, so too does it appear Abell 1033 has undergone an amazing rebirth.
Revised: May 19, 2022