Although the space between galaxies is the most empty space in the universe, some events can throw large amounts of matter into it. Now astronomers have documented an amazing phenomenon of this type in detail.
The work was carried out by a team led by Adam B Watts of the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and the University of Western Australia.
The authors of this research have produced the first high-resolution map of a large-scale ejection of gas from a galaxy. This study has provided important clues about how various chemical elements are distributed in intergalactic space.
The galaxy in question is NGC 4383, located in the Virgo cluster. Watts and his colleagues confirmed the existence of a gas stream measuring 20,000 light-years from end to end. The ejected gas moves outwards of the galaxy.
This flow is the result of powerful stellar explosions in the galaxy's core, capable of transporting hydrogen and chemical elements in enormous quantities into space. In this particular case, the researchers found oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and many other chemical elements. Hydrogen was produced in large quantities following the formation of the universe, along with some helium, and all other chemical elements are essentially products of the later activity of stars.
The mass of gas ejected from the core of NGC 4383 is equivalent to more than 50 million stars similar to our Sun.
The galaxy NGC 4383. (Photo: ESO / A. Watts et al. CC BY 4.0)
As Watts argues, very little is known about the physics of gas flows out into intergalactic space.
Gas ejected by this mechanism spreads through interstellar space in a galaxy, but it can go further, entering intergalactic space, where, if nothing unusual happens, it will float forever.
The new study is titled “MAUVE: A 6 kpc Bipolar Emission Launched from NGC4383, One of the Most Enriched Galaxies in the Virgo Cluster.” It is also published in the academic journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. (Source: NCYT T AMAZING)
