Boomerang-Shaped Galaxy Reveals Clues to Colossal Clusters

By Space.com Staff
published

Boomerang-Shaped Galaxy Reveals Clues to Colossal Clusters
Astronomers have detected a strange, boomerang-shaped galaxy that reveals new details about the gas "filaments" connecting massive galaxy clusters. In this diagram, galaxies in a giant cluster are seen as dots. The hot gas filling the cluster and filament is shown in purple. The odd, bent galaxy is shown in the inset. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech [<a href=http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/strange-boomerang-galaxy-101129.html>Full Story</a>])

Astronomers have

The boomerang-shaped

In the new study,

"These

A strangely bent

The newfound galaxy

The new bent galaxy

The

These jets have

Edwards and her colleagues noticed

By measuring the angle of the bent lobes, the team

The density inside

Edwards and her

Intergalactic

In general, galaxies

Clusters and

Over time, the clumps and threads of this

Much of this gas is

But the X-ray-emitting gas in filaments is much more

The technique used by Edwards and her colleagues, which uses radio frequencies that can reach a host of ground-based

Knowing how much material

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Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.