A team of scientists analyzed a giant cosmic shockwave that stretches 6.5 million light-years across, saying that it is the most prominent from Earth.
University of Hamburg researchers said that the massive shockwave is bigger than the whole galaxy and occurs when clusters of galaxies collide.
A new research titled "Multi-Scale Deep Learning for Estimating Horizontal Velocity Fields on the Solar Surface" provides the most precise depiction of this massive wave yet collected.
A general view of one of a 64-dish radio telescope systems is seen during an official unveiling ceremony on July 13, 2018, in Carnarvon. - South Africa on July 13 unveiled the planet's super radio telescope, which will be at least 50 times more powerful than any telescope on Earth. Deputy President, on July 13, formally unveiled the 64-dish radio telescope array in the remote and arid Karoo region of South Africa that offers prime conditions for astronomers. Named the MeerKAT, the 64 receptors are set to be integrated into a multi-nation Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
Researchers Find Giant Shockwave
Abell 3667, a supercluster formed by merging two galaxy clusters, caused that shockwave.
According to estimates by Professor Francesco de Gasperin during his time at the University of Hamburg and INAF, this was one of the most energetic occurrences in the cosmos since the Big Bang.
It ejected a wave of electrons akin to a particle accelerator when it happened around 200 million years ago.
Those particles are still moving at Mach 2.5 (1500 km/s) and generate radio waves as they pass through magnetic fields after all these years.
Dr. de Gasperin and his colleagues spotted the radio waves using MeerKAT, a new telescope array in South Africa.
The XMM-Newton X-ray observatory also concentrated on Abell 3667, but radio signals alone weren't adequate to define the shockwave.
The scientists scanned both half of the shock wave's radio component, often known as "radio relics."
Fast and furious: A shock wave that extends for 6.5 million light years - read how an international team of astronomers made the most detailed images of the largest cosmic shock wave visible from earth: https://t.co/QKO6EbAbEl pic.twitter.com/MwaH83oXF6
— SARAO - South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (@SKA_Africa) February 23, 2022
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According to researchers, the structures are significantly more complicated than earlier studies suggested.
Dr. de Gasperin said in a Universe Today report that the discoveries have given them a better understanding of the physics of galaxy cluster mergers, which turned out to be far more complicated than they first imagined.
The shockwaves themselves resemble "filaments" that track the path of massive magnetic field lines.
The primary shock wave is massive, covering the whole breadth of the galaxy cluster and measuring 6.5 million lightyears in length.
In comparison, the Milky Way - the galaxy we live in - is over 60 times smaller than this shock wave.
The photographs show that even when scientists are just seeking large collisions, the accompanying radio images may be breathtaking in and of themselves.
How do Experts Find Giant Shock Waves in Space?
Like sonic booms from supersonic jets, modern radio telescopes may see the propagation of a pair of massive shock waves that two galactic clusters created as they pass through the newly formed cluster.
When these rapid electrons traverse a magnetic field, they generate radio waves, which we can view with observatories like MeerKAT from Earth.
Daily Mail said an elaborate network of light filaments threads the shocks, tracing the locations of both huge magnetic field lines and the places where electrons are propelled within the wave.
These shock waves are still traveling at 932 miles per second, or 3.3 million miles per hour, through the galaxy cluster formed due to the collision.
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