Astronomers Witness Violent Collision of Two Galaxies 11 Billion Light-Years Away

Astronomers Witness Violent Collision of Two Galaxies 11 Billion Light-Years Away

Intense radiation from a quasar in one of these galaxies alters the gas properties in the other galaxy and dampens its ability to form new stars, according to an analysis of data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).

This artist’s impression shows a galactic merger in which the galaxy on the right hosts a quasar at its core; this quasar is powered by a supermassive black hole swallowing up material around it and emitting a powerful cone of radiation, piercing the other galaxy like a lance; as this radiation interacts with the galaxy on the left, it disrupts the clouds of gas and dust within, leaving behind only the smallest and densest regions; these regions are likely rendered incapable of star formation after the process. Image credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser.

Support authors and subscribe to content

This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.

Subscribe

Gain access to all our Premium contents.
More than 100+ articles.

Buy Article

Unlock this article and gain permanent access to read it.
Exit mobile version