C1ay Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Thanks to data from ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray satellite, a team of international scientists found a comet-like ball of gas over a thousand million times the mass of the sun hurling through a distant galaxy cluster over 750 kilometres per second. lefthttp://hypography.com/gallery/files/9/9/8/giant_comet_H_thumb.jpg[/img]This colossal 'ball of fire' is by far the largest object of this kind ever identified. The gas ball is about three million light years across, or about five thousand million times the size of our solar system. It appears from our perspective as a circular X-ray glow with a comet-like tail nearly half the size of the moon. "The size and velocity of this gas ball is truly fantastic," said Dr Alexis Finoguenov, adjunct assistant professor of physics in the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and an associated scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Extra-Terrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany. "This is likely a massive building block being delivered to one of the largest assembly of galaxies we know." The gas ball is in a galaxy cluster called Abell 3266, millions of light years from Earth, thus posing absolutely no danger to our solar system. Abell 3266 contains hundreds of galaxies and great amounts of hot gas that is nearly a hundred million degrees. Both the cluster gas and the giant gas ball are held together by the gravitational attraction of unseen dark matter. "What interests astronomers is not just the size of the gas ball but the role it plays in the formation and evolution of structure in the universe," said Dr Francesco Miniati, who worked on this data at UMBC while visiting from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. Abell cluster 3266 is part of the Horologium-Reticulum super-cluster and is one of the most massive galaxy clusters in the southern sky. It is still actively growing in size, as indicated by the gas ball, and will become one of the largest mass concentrations in the nearby universe. Using XMM-Newton data, the science team produced an entropy map (entropy is a thermodynamical property that provides a measure of disorder). The map allows for the separation of the cold and dense gas of the comet from the hotter and more rarefied gas of the cluster. This is based on X-ray spectra. The data show with remarkable detail the process of gas being stripped from the comet's core and forming a large tail containing lumps of colder and denser gas. The researchers estimate that a sun's worth of mass is lost every hour. "In Abell 3266 we are seeing structure formation in action," said Prof. Mark Henriksen (UMBC), co-author of the results. "Dark matter is the gravitational glue holding the gas ball together. But as it races through the galaxy cluster, a tug-of-war ensues where the galaxy cluster eventually wins, stripping off and dispersing gas that perhaps one day will seed star and galaxy growth within the cluster." Source: ESA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay-qu Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 The gas ball is about three million light years across, or about five thousand million times the size of our solar system. It appears from our perspective as a circular X-ray glow with a comet-like tail nearly half the size of the moon. Is it just me or does that seem a little out of proportion? Going from billions of times the solar system to just half the size of the moon for the tail... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C1ay Posted June 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Is it just me or does that seem a little out of proportion? Going from billions of times the solar system to just half the size of the moon for the tail...No. They're saying that's how big it physically looks from our perspective even though it's really billions of times bigger than our solar system. It's like saying the moon appears from our perspective to be the size of a coin when it's really about 1/4 of the Earth's diameter.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay-qu Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 ohhhh :naughty: that makes more sense then, truly it is a massive ball of gas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vagabond -SC2- Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 I'm glad you asked (i was going to ) because i read it the same way you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFaithfulStone Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Oh noes! Teh giant gas ball is coming! The gas ball is in a galaxy cluster called Abell 3266, millions of light years from Earth, thus posing absolutely no danger to our solar system. Oh wait... no, we're fine. I find it amusing that they were compelled to include this statement. :D TFS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay-qu Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 seriously though if they didnt if sure there would be some folk out there that didnt have a clue about the vast distances and the time it takes even light to travel them, would get really freaked out to hear that there is a giant gas ball thousands of millions of times the size of the solar system - 'what if it came our way :eek:' :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EWright Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 On what basis do they claim that dark matter is holding this ball of gas together? I understand the 'need' for dark matter in regards to keeping a galaxy together due to its rate of spin relative to its gravitational attraction. But I do not see the case for a dark matter argument with this object. Can someone please explain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C1ay Posted June 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 On what basis do they claim that dark matter is holding this ball of gas together? I understand the 'need' for dark matter in regards to keeping a galaxy together due to its rate of spin relative to its gravitational attraction. But I do not see the case for a dark matter argument with this object. Can someone please explain?Even though it's stated as a fact I take it as a theory but don't know why they claim this myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Oh noes! Teh giant gas ball is coming! Oh wait... no, we're fine. I find it amusing that they were compelled to include this statement. :eek_big: TFSYes, 'tis amusing:) Perhaps it is Fred Hoyle's "Black Clould" wandering about.:doh: Great read that book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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