Scientists have seenhypervelocity starsbefore , but this is the first time they ’ve ever honor an entire star cluster throw from its host galaxy . Named HVGC-1 , it ’s traveling at a rate of 2 million mil per 60 minutes — and its ultimate fate is to drift through the cosmic void for all fourth dimension .
Top image : Artistic impression of HVGC-1 . Credit : David A. Aguilar .
HVCG stands for hypervelocity globular clump , and it ’s the first clock time a celestial object like this has ever been observed . spheric clustering are relics of the other universe , groupings which contain thousands of stars crammed into a tight ball just a few twelve light - yr across . stargazer have document about 150 globular clump in the Milky Way — but they ’ve never seen anything quite like this before .
The breakthrough was made Nelson Caldwell of the Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and his team while studying the space around the supergiant elliptical galaxy M87 . The astronomer used the Hectospec instrument on the MMT Telescope in Arizona to essay the area in contingent .
The runaway lead cluster HVGC-1 ( circled ) in a photograph from the Canada - France - Hawaii Telescope ( CFHT ) . The cluster is whizz along toward us at a speed of more than two million miles per hour . credit rating : CFHT .
As noted , HVGC-1 is travelling at a tremendous amphetamine . allot to Caldwell , a potential reason for this rapid ejection may be on accounting of M87 havinga pair supermassive black holesat its core group . As the star clustering got tight and closer to these fatal gob , its out stars were plucked off while its heavy core remained intact . Then , acting like a catapult , the clump was flung aside at great swiftness . It ’s suspected that the clustering will eventually escape the gravitative confines of M87 and float off into intergalactic space .
This paper is define to seem in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters , but it ’s availablehere . supplemental information viaHarvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics .
AstronomyScience
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