The Phoenix galaxy cluster contains the first confirmed supermassive black hole that is unable to prevent large numbers of stars from forming in the core of the galaxy cluster where it resides.
The Phoenix Cluster system has several distinct elements that help tell the story of its unusually high star formation. Data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show that the coolest gas it can detect is located near the center of the cluster. In the absence of significant sources of heat, astronomers expect cooling to occur at the highest rates in a cluster’s center, where the densest gas is located.
Optical observations with the Hubble Space Telescope provide evidence for further cooling of gas near the center of the Phoenix Cluster. Ten billion solar masses of cooler gas are located along filaments to the north and south of the black hole, which likely originate from outbursts by the supermassive black hole located in the center of the image. The outbursts generated jets seen in radio waves by the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope. As the jets push outward, they inflated cavities, or bubbles, in the hot gas that pervades the cluster. Chandra’s sharp X-ray vision detected these cavities.
This image was made by combining data from Chandra, Hubble and the VLA. X-rays from Chandra depict hot gas in purple and radio emission from the VLA features jets in red. Optical light data from Hubble show galaxies (in yellow), and filaments of cooler gas where stars are forming (in light blue).
Credits
NASA, ESA, and NRAO| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Phoenix Cluster |
| Object Description | Cluster of galaxies |
| R.A. Position | 23:44:40.9 |
| Dec. Position | -42:41:54 |
| Constellation | Phoenix |
| Distance | 5.73 billion light-years |
| Dimensions | Image is 44 arcsec across (about 1.2 million light-years) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The HST observations include those from programs (M. McDonald) |
| Instrument | ACS/WFC |
| Exposure Dates | May-July 2018 |
| Filters | F475W, F775W, F850LP |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F475W Green: F775W Red: F850LP |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
