The Most Violent Wind in the Universe Was Just Clocked for the First Time
Indian Defence Review • • science
Key Points:
- Scientists have directly measured the speed of hot gas erupting from the core of galaxy M82, finding it moves at over 3 million kilometers per hour, driving a massive outflow extending tens of thousands of light-years.
- Using the XRISM spacecraft's Resolve instrument, researchers detected X-ray emissions from superheated iron at M82’s center, confirming that shockwaves from supernovae and intense star formation power these galactic winds.
- The gas temperature was measured at around 25 million degrees Celsius, generating enough pressure to expel about four solar masses of gas annually, sustaining the large-scale outflow without needing cosmic rays as the primary driver.
- However, XRISM data reveal a discrepancy: M82 expels material equivalent to seven solar masses per year, but the hot wind accounts for only four, leaving three solar masses of outward-moving gas unexplained.
- This unresolved gap challenges existing models and raises questions about whether the missing gas escapes the galaxy by other means or recirculates, prompting further investigation into galaxy evolution and star formation regulation.
