'How can all of this be happening?': Scientists spot massive group of ancient galaxies so hot they shouldn't exist

'How can all of this be happening?': Scientists spot massive group of ancient galaxies so hot they shouldn't exist

Live Sciencegeneral

Key Points:

  • Astronomers discovered an unexpectedly hot galaxy cluster, SPT2349-56, existing just 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang, challenging current models of galaxy cluster formation.
  • The intracluster medium in SPT2349-56 is at least five times hotter than predicted for such a young cluster, suggesting that galaxy clusters may form and heat up more rapidly than previously thought.
  • The cluster contains over 30 active galaxies and three supermassive black holes, which likely contribute significant energy to the intracluster medium, influencing early cluster development.
  • Researchers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect to measure the cluster