Astronomers have discovered the aftermath of one of the most powerful eruptions from a black hole ever recorded.
The explosion, taking place in the system SDSS J1531+3414 (SDSS J1531 for short), took place billions of years ago. But researching the giant cavity left behind may help explain the formation of star clusters that surround two massive galaxies, that resemble ‘beads on a string’, NASA says.
SDSS J1531 is a large galaxy cluster that is home to hundreds of individual galaxies, it also contains huge reservoirs of hot gas and dark matter. At the center – 3.8 billion light-years away – two large galaxies are colliding with each other.
More than one telescope was used to combine images to get the result of the aftermath, including NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the Low Frequency LOFAR radio telescope, as well as the Hubble Space Telescope.
Inside the photo, we can see two massive galaxies, 19 large clusters of stars (superclusters), that stretch across the middle, and how the clusters appear in a S formation.
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Scientists believe the ancient eruption was responsible for the 19 star clusters, due to the powerful jet from the supermassive black holes in the center of one of the large galaxies pushing hot gas away, leaving behind a humungous cavity.
Signs of a cavity are noted from ‘wings’ of bright x-ray emission, and dense gas near the center.
Astronomers also found cold and warm gas located near the opening of the hole, arguing the hot gas that was pushed away eventually turned into cold and warm gas after cooling down. They think the tidal effects of the two galaxies crashing into one another compressed the gas and created the S pattern.
A study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, led by Osase Omoruyi of the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, was described as an “excellent laboratory to study the interplay between mergers” and “star formation”.
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