Galaxies

The dwarf galaxy Henize 2-10

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An article published in the journal “Nature” reports a study on the dwarf galaxy Henize 2-10 that offers evidence that the supermassive black hole at its center stimulated star formation. Zachary Schutte and Amy Reines relied on observations conducted with the Hubble Space Telescope to find a kind of hot gas bridge that connects the black hole to a region of intense star formation and to connect the black hole’s outflow to that star nursery. These conclusions are useful to understand the influence of supermassive black holes on their host galaxies and their origin.

A composite image of the central area of ​​the Shapley Concentration within the Shapley supercluster

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An article accepted for publication in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” reports the observations of an interaction within the Shapley supercluster, one of the largest known structures in the universe, with collisions between galaxies within it. A team of researchers used in particular observations conducted with three radio telescopes: the Australian ASKAP, the South African MeerKat, and the Indian GMRT. That data was complemented with optical frequency observations conducted with the VST in Chile and X-ray observations with NASA’s XMM-Newton space telescope. Galaxy merger processes are occurring among relatively small groups but offer information on consequences at various scales, with influences even on large structures of galaxy clusters.

An illustration of the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds with C-19 on the left side

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An article published in the journal “Nature” reports the discovery of a primordial stellar stream at the edge of the Milky Way cataloged as C-19. A team of researchers used the GRACES instrument on the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii to study this stellar stream discovered in data collected by the Gaia space probe. The stars that are part of C-19 were identified in the Pristine survey as well, which aims to search for stars with the lowest metallicity in the Milky Way with the CFHT (Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope), also at Hawaii. Further data was collected using the Gran Telescopio Canarias in the Canaries. The study’s conclusion is that C-19’s stars were torn from an ancient star cluster when the Milky Way was very young. This new information could help better understand the formation of the first stars.

The galaxy NGC 1515 and other objects seen by DECam

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An image composed of data collected by the DECam (Dark Energy Camera) shows a group of spiral galaxies with NGC 1515 in the center. It’s a galaxy considered part of the so-called Dorado Group, a set of galaxies with gravitational bonds that are not numerous enough to be defined as a galaxy cluster. Other spiral galaxies included in the image are at various distances from Earth and the farthest are indistinguishable to the naked eye from Milky Way stars present in that area of ​​the sky.

The galaxy Centaurus A seen by the WMA (Image Ben McKinley, ICRAR/Curtin and Connor Matherne, Louisiana State University)

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An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” reports the observation of a cosmic eruption in the galaxy Centaurus A which, despite being about 12 million light-years away, has an extension in the Earth’s sky equivalent to that of 16 full Moons side by side. A team of researchers used the MWA radio telescope to detect the radio emissions generated by the supermassive black hole at the center of Centaurus A. The observations show a gigantic bipolar outflow with unprecedented quality. This allowed confirming a new interdisciplinary theory known as CCA (Chaotic Cold Accretion) regarding the interaction between the gas halos possessed by galaxies and the supermassive black holes they host.