Chandra Release - October 27, 2014

Visual Description: Perseus Cluster and Virgo Cluster

The Chandra X-ray Observatory image features a two panel of galaxy clusters.  Both images are dominated by dark purple and black textures. These two Chandra images of galaxy clusters - known as Perseus (left) and Virgo (right) - have provided direct evidence that turbulence is helping to prevent stars from forming.  Galaxy clusters are the largest objects in the Universe held together by gravity. They contain hundreds or thousands of individual galaxies that are immersed in gas with temperatures of millions of degrees. This hot gas, which is the heftiest component of the galaxy clusters aside from dark matter, glows brightly in X-ray light. The structure of the Perseus Cluster appears as swirling clouds with a figure-8 shape at its core and a puff of dark blue filamentary material coming off of it, reminiscent of a fading tornado. The structure of the Virgo Cluster has a series of slight ripples towards the center, as if a rock has been dropped in a pond.  There are two filamentary arm-like structures, at 10 o'clock and 4 o'clock, reaching out towards the edges.