Researchers Identify The Most Massive Galaxy Cluster, Call It The Phoenix!

Just seven billion light-years away resides a cluster of thousands of galaxies that is by far the most massive and the most dazzling - so say the findings of a group of researchers led by MIT. Naming it after the constellation in which it resides, these researchers call this gigantic structure - the Phoenix Cluster. Most galaxy clusters have very old galaxies at their core, that churn out a few new stars every year. But, the heart of this luminous cluster is producing as many as 740 new stars per year. What's more amusing is the fact that its core is a bright blue, when the norm is that the core appears red and dead to indicate the presence of very old stars. This unusual blue notifies that Phoenix cluster's surrounding gas is cooling at a rapid rate and a massive starburst is what should ideally happen next.

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An artist's impression of a galaxy at the center of the Phoenix Cluster.

These findings throw light on an old astrophysics theory that talks of a cooling flow problem that signifies the cooling of gas at the core of a cluster naturally cool over time to forms a flow cold enough to condense and form new stars. Brian McNamara, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Waterloo, says the extreme starburst identified by the group may illustrate how the most massive primeval galaxies may have formed. You might want to read the full report published by #-Link-Snipped-#.