Astronomers studying the early Universe, based on observations of the distant cosmos, have made a startling discovery: A cluster of galaxies forms around a quasar.
A quasar, a special type of active galactic nucleus, is a compact region containing a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy. The gas falling into the supermassive black hole makes the quasar bright enough to outshine all the stars in the galaxy.
The research was conducted using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
The quasar under investigation, named SDSS J165202.64+172852.3, existed as seen in observations 11.5 billion years ago.
This quasar is one of the most powerful galactic nuclei known to have been observed at such a great distance.
The new observations indicate that the quasar was part of a close knot of galaxy formation.
The study was conducted by the team of Dominika Wylezalek, from the University of Heidelberg in Germany.
Three galaxies have been confirmed to be very close to the galaxy with the quasar in the center. Wylezalek and his colleagues suspect they may have observed the central zone of a much larger cluster of galaxies.
The three confirmed galaxies orbit each other at incredibly high speeds, indicating the existence of a large amount of mass.
On the left, the quasar SDSS J165202.64+172852.3, located in a Hubble Space Telescope image taken in visible and near-infrared light. The images on the right are the result of new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope at multiple wavelengths. They show the distribution and motion of gas within the recently observed cluster of galaxies, particularly around the quasar that dominates the central sector of the cluster. (Images: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, D. Wylezalek (Heidelberg University), A. Vayner and N. Zakamska (Johns Hopkins University), Q-3D Team)
The team believes this is one of the densest known galaxy-forming zones in the early universe. Wylezalek and his colleagues think the observed region could be the convergence point where two massive dark matter halos merge. The normal concentration patterns of dark matter seem insufficient to explain this.
Dark matter is an invisible (does not emit detectable radiation) form of matter that provides enough extra mass to hold each galaxy and cluster of galaxies together. Observed normal matter would not suffice for this. (Font style: NCYT from Amazings)
