Massive Galaxy Cluster Stuns Astronomers

Astronomers have to rethink on how colossal structures and galaxies evolve after the new extraordinary galaxy cluster was discovered recently. The rapid evolution of cluster of galaxies was captured by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the National Science Foundation's South Pole Telescope, and eight other world-class observatories.

According to the researchers the cluster of galaxies SPT-CLJ2344-4243 that is located about 7 billion light-years away, is hundred times faster than our Milky Way in terms of forming stars. As this star gives birth to more than 700 stars per year.

"While galaxies at the center of most clusters may have been dormant for billions of years, the central galaxy in this cluster seems to have come back to life with a new burst of star formation," said Michael McDonald, a Hubble Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the lead author of a paper. "The mythology of the Phoenix, a bird rising from the dead, is a great way to describe this revived object."

This study appears in the August 16 issue of the journal Nature.

According tot the data received by the astronomers the Phoenix is a vast reservoir of hot gas. Supermassive black holes that pump energy into the system in order to prevent the cooling of the of gases are an important factor for the formation of stars, have long been associated with low observed star formation rates.

The lack of powerful stream in the center of the Phoenix cluster is the reason for the stars that are forming about 20 times faster than in the Perseus cluster.

"The galaxy and its black hole are undergoing unsustainable growth," said co-author Bradford Benson, of the University of Chicago. "This growth spurt can't last longer than about a hundred million years. Otherwise, the galaxy and black hole would become much bigger than their counterparts in the nearby universe."

"This spectacular star burst is a very significant discovery because it suggests we have to rethink how the massive galaxies in the centers of clusters grow," said Martin Rees of Cambridge University, a world-renowned expert on cosmology who was not involved with the study. "The cooling of hot gas might be a much more important source of stars than previously thought."