Skip to main content

Astronomers have discovered one of the most powerful explosions ever from a black hole, known as SDSS J1531+3414.

 



Astronomers recently detected a remarkable event—a powerful eruption from a black hole within the SDSS J1531+3414 system, aptly abbreviated as SDSS J1531. This colossal explosion, dating back billions of years, holds potential clues about the origin of a captivating arrangement of star clusters surrounding two immense galaxies, forming a bead-like pattern. SDSS J1531 is a colossal galaxy cluster housing numerous galaxies, substantial reservoirs of hot gas, and dark matter. Positioned roughly 3.8 billion light-years away, this cluster features a collision between two of its largest galaxies at its core, adding a dynamic dimension to the cosmic spectacle.


Astronomers employed multiple telescopes, including NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a radio telescope, to scrutinize SDSS J1531. This composite image presents the X-ray view from Chandra (blue and purple) merged with radio data from LOFAR (dark pink) and an optical image from the Hubble Space Telescope (appearing as yellow and white). The inset provides a close-up of SDSS J1531's center in optical light, revealing two prominent galaxies and 19 large star clusters, termed superclusters, arranged in an 'S' formation reminiscent of beads on a string.


The diverse data sources reveal clues of an ancient, colossal eruption within SDSS J1531, believed by a team of researchers to be linked to the formation of the 19 star clusters. They propose that an exceptionally potent jet emitted from the supermassive black hole at the center of one of the large galaxies expelled the surrounding hot gas, forming a massive cavity. Bright X-ray emission "wings" observed with Chandra indicate dense gas near the center, outlining the edges of the cavity. LOFAR captures radio waves emanating from the remnants of the jet's energetic particles filling the expansive cavity, as illustrated in a labeled version of the image.


Multiwavelength Image of SDSS J1531.




Astronomers, utilizing the Atacama Large Millimeter and submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Gemini North Telescope, identified both cold and warm gas near the cavity's entrance. A supplemental graphic illustrates the optical image with added cold gas in green (left) and warm gas in red (right). The researchers posit that a portion of the hot gas expelled from the black hole underwent cooling processes, resulting in the observed cold and warm gases.


They suggest that tidal effects from the merging galaxies compressed the gas along curved trajectories, leading to the formation of the star clusters arranged in the distinctive "beads on a string" pattern.


Cold and warm gas.



Astronomers have detected both cold and warm gas in close proximity to the opening of the cavity within SDSS J1531.


The galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414, at redshift z=0.335, unfolds as a captivating celestial laboratory for exploring the intricate dynamics of mergers, AGN feedback, and star formation. Recent Chandra X-ray imaging exposes the rapid cooling of intracluster gas (T∼106 K), forming two distinctive "wings" with a concave density discontinuity at the cool core's edge.


LOFAR 144 MHz observations reveal diffuse radio emission precisely aligned with these "wings," implying their role as the entrance to a colossal X-ray supercavity. The steep radio emission suggests an ancient remnant of an energetically intense AGN outburst exceeding 4pV>1061 erg. GMOS detects warm (T∼104 K) ionized gas north of the supercavity, enveloping stellar superclusters but redshifted up to +800 km s−1 relative to the southern central galaxy.


ALMA identifies a redshifted ∼1010 M⊙ reservoir of cold (T∼102 K) molecular gas, offset by ∼1−3 kpc from the young stars. The proposed origin of multiphase gas involves low-entropy gas entrained by the X-ray supercavity, attributing the offset to turbulent intracluster gas motions, and suggesting tidal interactions as catalysts for the observed "beads on a string" star formation morphology.


The findings, detailed in a paper led by Osase Omoruyi from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), have been recently published in The Astrophysical Journal and are accessible online here. The collaborative team of authors includes researchers from institutions worldwide, such as Grant Tremblay (CfA), Francoise Combes (Paris Observatory, France), Timothy Davis (Cardiff University, UK), and others.


Visual Description of Galaxy Cluster SDSS J1531+3414.


The image captures the galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414 in X-ray, optical, and radio wavelengths, resembling a mesmerizing display of lights viewed through a wet glass window. Blurry orange dots, representing entire galaxies, scatter across a black background. Two bright, white dots at the center depict the central galaxies, while electric blue star clusters form a string-like pattern, intertwining around the left galaxy, through the space between the pair, and lightly coiling beneath them.


Surrounding the galaxies, a blend of blue X-ray and dark pink radio clouds extends for thousands of light-years. The dark pink cloud below signifies the remnants of a potent jet expelled by a supermassive black hole, resembling an upside-down spinning top. Another dark pink cloud in the upper right corner may denote the relic of a counter-jet from the same black hole outburst.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

JWST Just Dropped a Space Banger – Meet HH 30, the Cosmic Baby Star with an Attitude!

  ๐Ÿš€Hubble Found It, Webb Flexed on It! NASA, ESA, and CSA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) just hit us with another mind-blowing “Picture of the Month,” and this time, it’s all about HH 30 —a baby star with a dramatic flair! Sitting pretty in the Taurus Molecular Cloud, this young star is rocking a protoplanetary disc that’s literally glowing with potential future planets. And oh, it’s got some serious jets and a disc wind to show off!   ๐Ÿ’ซ What’s So Special About HH 30? Ever heard of Herbig-Haro objects? No? Cool, neither did most of us until now! These are glowing gas clouds marking the tantrums of young stars as they spit out jets of gas at supersonic speeds. HH 30 is one of them, but with a twist—it’s a prototype edge-on disc, meaning we get a front-row seat to the magic of planet formation!   ๐Ÿ“ก Webb, Hubble & ALMA—The Ultimate Space Detective Team.   To break down HH 30’s secrets, astronomers went full detective mode using:   ✔️...

Solar Storm Shocker: Earth Gets a Cosmic Makeover with Two New Radiation Belts!

  The May 2024 solar storm formed two new radiation belts between the Van Allen Belts, with one containing protons, creating a unique composition never observed before. Picture this: May 2024, the Sun throws a massive tantrum, sending a solar storm hurtling toward Earth. The result? Stunning auroras light up the skies, GPS systems go haywire, and—wait for it—Earth gets two brand-new *temporary* radiation belts! That’s right, our planet just got a cosmic upgrade, thanks to the largest solar storm in two decades. And no, this isn’t a sci-fi movie plot—it’s real science, folks!   Thanks to NASA’s Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment (CIRBE) satellite, scientists discovered these new belts, which are like Earth’s Van Allen Belts’ quirky cousins. Published on February 6, 2025, in the *Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics*, this discovery is a game-changer for space research, especially for protecting satellites and astronauts from solar storm shenanigans. ...

NASA/ESA Hubble Telescope Captures Image of Supernova to Aid Distance Measurements.

  The Hubble Space Telescope has recently captured a striking image of a supernova-hosting galaxy, located approximately 600 million light-years away in the constellation Gemini. This image, taken about two months after the discovery of supernova SN 2022aajn, reveals a bright blue dot at the center, signifying the explosive event. Although SN 2022aajn was first announced in November 2022, it has not yet been the subject of extensive research. However, Hubble's interest in this particular supernova lies in its classification as a Type Ia supernova, a type that is key to measuring cosmic distances. Type Ia supernovae occur when a star's core collapses, and they are particularly useful for astronomers because they have a predictable intrinsic brightness. No matter how far away a Type Ia supernova is, it emits the same amount of light. By comparing its observed brightness to this known luminosity, astronomers can calculate how far away the supernova — and its host galaxy — are from...