Chandra Image Reveals Two Colliding Clusters Nicknamed the 'Champagne Cluster'

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and optical telescopes captured a composite image of a galaxy cluster discovered on Dec. 31, 2020, nicknamed the "Champagne Cluster" (officially RM J130558.9+263048.4). The image, combining Chandra X-ray data (shown in purple) with optical data from the Legacy Surveys, shows that the Champagne Cluster is actually two galaxy clusters in the process of merging.

The multimillion-degree gas observed by Chandra is stretched vertically across the system, revealing the presence of two colliding clumps of galaxies toward the top and bottom of center. The image has been rotated clockwise by 90 degrees so that North points to the right. The hot gas in the cluster outweighs the combined mass of the more than one hundred visible galaxies, and both clusters also contain larger amounts of unseen dark matter.

The system is a member of a rare class of merging clusters, similar to the Bullet Cluster, where collisions separate and slow the hot gas relative to the most massive galaxies. Astronomers compared the observations with simulations and proposed two possible histories: either the clusters collided more than two billion years ago and are now falling back together for a second collision, or they experienced a single collision about 400 million years ago and are now moving apart after that event.

Researchers say further study of the Champagne Cluster could help reveal how dark matter behaves in high-speed collisions.

Key Topics

Science, Chandra X-ray Observatory, Champagne Cluster, Legacy Surveys, Bullet Cluster, Dark Matter