Scientists have discovered a collision that generated a shockwave over 60 times larger than the entire Milky Way, with a diameter of approximately 100,000 light-years.
Located about 730 million light-years from Earth, Abell 3667 is a chaotic galaxy cluster. According to Live Science, Abell 3667 contains over 550 individual galaxies that frequently collide with one another.
Shockwave over 60 times larger than the Milky Way. (Image: SARAO).
Most telescopes are not capable of observing this event, but the cosmic collision created a significant disturbance in the area, causing a massive shockwave to erupt that can only be detected in radio wavelengths.
A new study published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics has provided the most detailed images ever captured of this enormous shockwave. Using the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, researchers photographed the radio components of the shockwave. They found that the structure of this shockwave is much more complex than previous observations indicated.
“The shockwaves act like gigantic particle accelerators, accelerating electrons to near the speed of light. The shockwaves are connected by a complex pattern of filaments of matter that trace the locations of gigantic magnetic field lines and areas where electrons are accelerated,” said scientist Francesco de Gasperin.
According to the researchers, the shockwave first erupted about 1 billion years ago, when the two galaxy clusters that make up Abell 3667 collided for the first time. Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally bound structures in the universe.
As the shockwave shoots electrons into space at speeds nearing the speed of light, these particles tear through the magnetic field in the area, emitting radio waves that are observed today. Researchers found that each burst of radio waves travels at speeds exceeding 5.3 million km/s, spaced about 13 million light-years apart, and is over 60 times larger than the entire Milky Way with a diameter of about 100,000 light-years.
“This is a powerful explosion, and for astronomers, it is a spectacular scene,” the researchers stated.
