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The brightest galaxy in the universe has devoured at least three galaxies from its neighbor. The discovery is important to determine if the galaxy is shining intensely with the help of material from other galaxies.
Nicknamed W2246-0526, the super-bright galaxy was discovered in 2015 by NASA's Wide Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). W2246-0526 is certainly not the largest or most massive galaxy in the universe, but it appears 350 trillion times brighter than the Sun. Its extreme luminosity remains a mystery for scientists.
New observations using Atacama's large millimeter / submillimeter (ALMA) network revealed that the striking glow of the galaxy is fed by dust from three to three smaller galaxies. The researchers discovered distinct dust trails containing about as much material as the small galaxies themselves. The position and shape of the dust trails are also consistent with the way the material should flow if it is pulled from one galaxy to another.
"It is possible that this binge eating has already been going on for some time and we anticipate that the galactic feast will continue for at least a few hundred million years." The main author Tanio Diaz-Santos from Diego Portales University in Chile said.
Galactic cannibalism is not a rare thing. Scientists have known for a long time that many large galaxies contain the remains of small galaxies. When galaxies get too close together, large galaxies remain intact and retain their shape. But the little ones will be undressed and will be part of the largest galaxy because of its intense gravity.
"We knew from previous data that there were three galaxies companions, but there was no evidence of interactions between these neighbors and the central source," Diaz-Santos said. "We were not looking for cannibalistic behavior and we were not expecting that, but this deep dive with the ALMA observatory is very clear."
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