The Perseus Cluster Waves
Explanation:
The cosmic swirl and slosh of giant waves
in an enormous reservoir of glowing hot gas
are traced in this enhanced X-ray image from the
Chandra Observatory.
The frame spans over 1 million light-years across the center of
the nearby
Perseus Galaxy Cluster,
some 240 million light-years distant.
Like other clusters of galaxies, most of the observable mass in the
Perseus cluster is in the form of the cluster-filling gas.
With temperatures in the tens of millions of degrees, the gas glows brightly
in X-rays.
Computer simulations can reproduce details of the structures
sloshing through
the Perseus cluster's X-ray hot gas, including the remarkable
concave bay seen
below and left of center.
About 200,000 light-years across, twice the size of the Milky Way,
the bay's formation indicates that Perseus itself was likely grazed by
a smaller galaxy cluster billions of years ago.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
