Astronomers have discovered the largest known cloud of energetic particles surrounding a galaxy cluster — spanning nearly 20 million light-years. The finding challenges long-standing theories about how particles stay energized over time. Instead of being powered by nearby galaxies, this vast region seems to be energized by giant shockwaves and turbulence moving through the hot gas between galaxies.
This new composite image made with X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue and purple), radio data from the MeerKAT radio telescope (orange and yellow), and an optical image from PanSTARRS (red, green, and blue) shows PLCK G287.0+32.9. This massive galaxy cluster, located about 5 billion light-years from Earth, was first detected by astronomers in 2011.
Previously, studies in radio waves spotted two bright relics, which are giant shockwaves that lit up the cluster’s edges. This new study now reveals that the entire cluster is wrapped in a faint radio glow, nearly 20 times the diameter of the Milky Way. A cloud of energetic particles this large has never previously been observed in any galaxy cluster. The prior record holder, Abell 2255, spans roughly 16.3 million light-years.
This finding provides researchers with a new way to study cosmic magnetic fields — one of the major unanswered questions in astrophysics — that could help scientists understand how magnetic fields shape the Universe on the largest scales.
These results were presented today in a press conference at the 246th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) by Kamlesh Rajpurohit of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
This release focuses on a cloud of energetic particles surrounding a distant galaxy cluster. The cluster, known as PLCK G287, is featured in a composite image combining X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, radio data from the MeerKAT radio telescope, and an optical image from PanSTARRS.
The galaxy cluster sits at the center of the composite image; a collection of white dots on a black canvas flecked with hundreds of similar specks. Surrounding the cluster is a blue and purple X-ray cloud. This gradated cloud, which spans about five million light years, is dark blue and purple around the outer edges, and light violet and pink near the core.
Flanking the cloud at our upper right and lower left are wispy orange and yellow bands. These bright bands are giant shockwaves, relics detected by earlier studies of radio waves in the region. The orange band at our lower left is somewhat smaller and more clearly defined, while the shockwave at our upper right is larger, and abuts the purple cloud.
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