Researchers found that the brightest galaxy in the universe is in danger of tearing apart due to turbulence.
The galaxy called W2246-0526 is the brightest known in the universe. It is located at a distance of around 12.4 billion light-years away from Earth. Astronomers found that the galaxy it is losing its star forming gas and it is literary tearing apart due to a strong pull of the gravitational field of a black hole.
.A team of researchers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in order to analyze the actual movements of the dust and gas between the stars composing the galaxy W2246-0526. The results of the research were published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
In order to come up with the results of their study, the experts mapped out ionized carbon atoms throughout the bright galaxy. These atoms are able to produce natural infrared light and trace interstellar gas. This infrared light shifts into millimeter wavelengths as it travels through the cosmos, because of the universe's expansion.
According to a report in Tech Times citing the team leader Roberto Assef from the Universidad Diego Portales in Chile, every galaxy is created via massive interstellar gas that builds the new stars. The galaxies lose ability to form gas and new stars as they age.
For the bright W2246-0526, the research team found that a super-massive black hole at its center is creating a strong gravitational pull that tears the galaxy apart. The central black hole is fully obscured behind interstellar dust.
Astronomers also discovered that the extreme luminosity of the W2246-0526 galaxy is caused by a highly energetic orbiting gas disk that gets super-heated by the black hole. The disk emits infrared light when it is absorbed by the thick dust.
These properties make the galaxy very bright in the infrared spectrum, according to the explanation of Assef in a press release. The scientist added that the powerful infrared light is generating high turbulence throughout the interstellar space and it has a chaotic effect on the entire galaxy.
According to the co-author of the study, Manuel Aravena, if the current trend persists the W2246-0526 galaxy may end up shedding a significant amount of its dust and gas.
