NASA ’s X - ray observation tower Chandra hasreleasedan incredible image of a brace of colliding galaxies known as Arp 299 . The observation revealed much more than just a stunning picture , the intact system itself has intriguing sources aplenty !
The international inquiry team was capable to spot 25 case-by-case sources , 14 of which are emitting so many decade - rays that they are categorize as “ radical - lucent X - electron beam source ” ( ULXs ) . The whole system is also bathed in the soft glow of intergalactic hot gas pedal and the acute emissions from the cores of the two merging Galax urceolata .
This uttermost apparatus make for some fascinating physics . These ULXs are either black holes or neutron stars slip material from a familiar . As the material rains down on the summary object , it is under incredible gravitative air , which heats it up until it begins to glitter in X - beam . Arp 299 ’s ULXs are bump in the centre of region where star topology are forming at a high charge per unit .
While this is one of the few localisation with that many ULXs in the local universe , there are slightly few than the expect numeral from theoretic arguments . harmonize to the research paper , published in theMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , the beetleweed is fertile in heavy elements , which extend to little sensation on average and could excuse why we see fewer seed .
The range is a mixed bag of X - ray data from Chandra and NuSTAR ( pink and royal , respectively ) and optic from Hubble ( white and brown ) . But that ’s not the only affair that researchers have been looking at – the galaxy also emits a significant amount of infrared lighter . This is unsurprising as infrared is a full tracer of star geological formation .
The combined XTC - beam and infrared emission are unusually similar to what we observe in the very early universe , where collisions between galaxies happened often and the genius - formation rate of galaxies was much high than today . Arp 299 is a great local proxy for all those distant Galax urceolata .
Arp 299 is turn up 140 million light - geezerhood from us and is in an advance leg of merging . The whole conflux process will probably take another billion years to complete . At that gunpoint , the two galaxy will become a individual elliptic - seem object .
