The mystery of the lost luster of the Universe

A galaxy cluster is a cosmic leviathan, a conglomeration of hundreds of thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity. It’s also a cosmic mystery.

With the title “A galaxy cluster with a high birth rate” a report explains the cosmic mystery, which is due to stellar low birth rate.

According to the article, hot gas flows to the center of these clusters, cooling in the process, a situation that should create a fertile spot for new stars. But astronomers have found this mostly not to be the case. Now, scientists have discovered a galaxy cluster 5.7 billion light-years away from Earth whose center is abuzz with rapid star formation.

Astronomers say a likely reason this particular cluster is so productive is that that the cooling of gas at its center is not being countered by the emission of hot jets from a central black hole.

The cluster, named the Phoenix galaxy cluster, is one of the biggest in the universe. It was discovered in 2010 with the help of the South Pole Telescope. The telescope has helped researchers detect such clusters by exploiting a phenomenon known as the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect.

As soon as it was discovered, the cluster drew the attention of a team of astronomers led by Michael McDonald of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“This is an extraordinary burst of star formation,” McDonald says, noting that it is at least five times the rate of star formation in the next most productive cluster. He and his colleagues also found evidence to suggest that the gas flowing into the center of the galaxy was cooling rapidly, just as they had expected.

It’s no coincidence that “the most rapidly cooling galaxy cluster in the universe” happens to be the site of such frenetic star formation activity, McDonald says. “We think this cooling gas is providing an abundant supply of fuel for this starburst.”

It is worth noting that as shown in the picture, the Galaxy NGC 1275 is in the constellation of Perseus. The red thread is a gas that is held suspended from the galactic magnetic field.