A galaxy in our universe is alone because it made a grave mistake. Despite the fact that its surroundings indicate that it should be a part of a cluster of at least 100 galaxies, the object, known as 3C 297, is strangely alone.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory provided information on the area around 3C 297, and it indicates that since it is the only galaxy in the area, something else must have happened to the other galaxies.
The data show that the galaxy itself is the cause of this radiation; it contains a quasar, a galactic nucleus with a supermassive black hole that consumes matter so quickly that it emits some of the universe’s brightest light.
This galaxy typically has quasar jets, which are beams of plasma that are emitted from the cold regions of the supermassive black hole at its center and launch matter into space at velocities that are nearly as fast as light in a vacuum.
Data from Chandra and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array discovered several indications that the jets pass through an intracluster medium, an intergalactic medium connected to a galaxy cluster.
Three essential details are listed below:
- According to the X-ray data, the isolated galaxy is surrounded by a sizeable quantity of gas with temperatures of hundreds of millions of degrees, which is frequently observed in galaxy clusters.
- Second, it appears that the supermassive black hole’s jet has smashed into the galaxy’s surrounding gas based on the strong X-ray emission it has generated at a distance of 140,000 light-years.
- Finally, one of the radio jets in galaxy cluster 3C 297 is twisted, showing that it has engaged with its neighbors.
