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Posted on Nov 6, 2018
A mere one billion light-years away from the galaxy cluster known as Abell 2597, there lies a gargantuan galactic fountain. A massive black hole at the heart of a distant galaxy has been observed in a vast spout of cold molecular gas in space, which then rains back on the black hole as an intergalactic deluge. never before been observed in combination, and has its origin in the innermost 100,000 light-years of the brightest galaxy in the Abell 2597 cluster.
Observations by ALMA and data from the MUSE spectrograph on ESO's VLT has revealed a colossal fountain of molecular gas powered by a black hole in the brightest galaxy of the Abell 2597 cluster – the full galactic cycle of inflow and outflow powering this vast cosmic fountain has never before being observed in one system.
"Explained Grant Smith of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Training" ESO Fellow, who led this study. "The supermassive black hole at the center of this giant galaxy acts like a mechanical pump in a fountain."
Tremblay and his team used ALMA to the position and motion of carbon monoxide molecules within the nebula. These cold molecules, with temperatures as low as 250-260 ° C, were found to be falling inwards to the black hole. The team also used data from the MUSE instrument on ESO 's Very Large Telescope to track warmer gas – which is being launched out of the black hole in the form of jets.
"The unique aspect of ALMA and MUSE," explained explained. "The two facilities make for an incredibly powerful combination."
Together these two sets of data form a complete picture of the process; cold gas falls towards the black hole, igniting the black hole and causing it to launch fast-moving jets of incandescent plasma into the void. These jets then spout from the black hole in a spectacular galactic fountain. With no hope of escaping the galaxy's gravitational clutches, the plasma cools off, slows down, and eventually rains back down on the black hole, where the cycle begins anew.
This unprecedented observation could shed light on the life cycle of galaxies. The team speculates that this process may not only be common, but also essential to understanding galaxy training. While the inflow and outflow of cold molecular has been previously detected, this is the first time both have been detected in one system, and hence the first evidence that the two make up part of the same vast process.
Abell 2597 is found in the Aquarius constellation, and is named for its inclusion in the Abell catalog of rich clusters of galaxies. The catalog also includes such clusters as the Fornax cluster, the Hercules cluster, and Pandora 's cluster.
The Daily Galaxy via ESO
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