What happens in space, does not stay in space. Sometimes it reaches Earth. A group of British scientists recorded the most powerful shock waves that have ever reached Earth from space. This occurred due to the collision of one galaxy with four neighboring galaxies. Thanks to this, it is possible to reveal the formation processes of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The large galactic collision detected is a huge field of research.
This phenomenon occurred in a group of galaxies called Stephan’s Quintet. It is located 290 million light years from Earth. According to astronomers, one of the galaxies, NGC 7318b, collided with four others. It did so at a speed of 3.2 million kilometers per hour. This created an extremely powerful shock front similar to a “fighter sonic boom.”
galaxy crossroads
The Stephan Quintet, discovered in 1877, has long interested astronomers. It is called a “galactic crossroads.” This is due to the frequent interactions between galaxies that leave behind cosmic debris fields.
“It is essentially a huge intergalactic debris field. (…) The new intruder NGC 7318b crashed into the debris field and compressed the plasma and gas it contained. In doing so, he reactivated the plasma, causing it to glow brightly at radio frequencies. And it probably started the process of star formation. He explained it in a comment to Live Science astrophysicist Marina Arnaúdova, from the University of Hertfordshire (United Kingdom). It is specified that it was possible to fix it with the help of the WEAVE wide-angle spectrograph. It is installed in the William Herschel telescope on the island of Palma.
Chance
The large galactic collision detected is a rare opportunity for humanity. We can see a complex combination of colliding galaxies. This, in turn, will provide valuable information to understand the formation of those galaxies that we see today and will be able to observe in the future.
Scientists believe that these collisions seriously affect the evolution of galaxies. Thanks to this, it is possible to reveal the formation processes of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The study was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
