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Scientists believe that a “necklace” of recently formed star clusters located 3.8 billion light years away from Earth may have been created due to a highly intense eruption from a massive black hole.
The cosmic jewelry, featuring a design of stars resembling beads on a string, is situated within a vast galaxy cluster called SDSS J1531.
At the center of this massive cluster, two of its biggest galaxies are combining, encircled by a group of 19 large clusters of young, glowing stars.
Nasa’s Hubble Space Telescope first unveiled pictures of this celestial jewelry in 2014.
Scientists now hypothesize that it originated from an incredibly strong jet – with energy comparable to the explosion of a billion suns – emitted by a supermassive black hole approximately four billion years ago.
The jet expelled the heated gas enveloping SDSS J1531, resulting in an enormous cavity resembling a bubble.
Dr. Timothy Davis, a faculty member at the School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University, explained that the formation of a cavity in hot gas is similar to a bubble rising in water.
“The beads (of star clusters) are formed as gas is compressed in front of the bubble, allowing material to cool and form star clusters that are regularly spaced.”
The team announced that their findings, which were published in The Astrophysical Journal, could potentially provide insight into the role of black holes as “cosmic thermostats” in preventing the collapse of gas within galaxy clusters.
According to Dr. Davis, the explosion of black holes, such as the one responsible for the formation of superclusters in SDSS J1531, play a crucial role in maintaining the high temperature of gas within galaxy clusters.
“Discovering definitive proof of this ongoing process enables us to comprehend the influence of massive black holes on their surroundings.”
The team examined information from X-ray, optical, and radio telescopes and pieced together the series of cosmic occurrences for the study.
The study was conducted by a graduate student, Osase Omoruyi, at the Centre for Astrophysics, which is a joint effort between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Harvard College Observatory in the United States. According to Omoruyi, their research focuses on the system in its state four billion years ago, shortly after the Earth’s formation.
The system contains a highly active black hole that frequently erupts.
This old opening, a remnant of the black hole, informs us of a significant occurrence that occurred almost 200 million years prior in the cluster’s past.
The airplane emitted radio and X-ray signals that were identified by Nasa’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a type of radio telescope.
The group reported that they monitored the concentrated gas in the central region of SDSS J1531, uncovering “wings” of intense X-ray activity on the outskirts of the cavity.
According to Dr. Davis, this system contains a highly active black hole that continuously releases energy and has a significant impact on the surrounding gas.
“Here, we identify the indisputable evidence and witness its immediate consequences.”
According to the researchers, the team has currently identified one jet, although typically black holes emit two jets in opposing directions.
They theorize that the radio and X-ray emissions detected in distant regions could be remnants of the secondary jet.
The team stated that additional observations are required to validate the outburst, even though the evidence supporting this significant eruption is compelling.
Ms Omoruyi stated that they are aiming to gain further knowledge about the source of the identified cavity and locate the expected one on the opposite side of the black hole.
Source: independent.co.uk
