December 27, 2019

A whole galaxy cluster influenced by the activity of a supermassive black hole

An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal” reports a study on a supermassive black hole in the galaxy cluster SPT-CLJ0528-5300 or simply SPT-0528 that had a really extraordinary outburst. A team of researchers used in particular NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to study that activity finding that the materials pushed away created two huge cavities 180° from each other. By measuring the volume and pressure of the displaced gas and calculating the age of the cavities, it was possible to estimate the energy of that activity in over 1054 joules, the highest discovered so far in a distant cluster. It could be the cause of a limited star formation in clusters like this one.