Telescopes "Webb" and ALMA studied the shock wave the size of the Milky Way

Astrophysicists used the James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Radio Telescope (ALMA).

millimeter/submillimeter lattice) to study the processes that occur when galaxies collide in Stephan's Quintet.Observation showed that the shock wave was several times larger than the size of theThe Milky Way has launched a "plant for the processing of warm and cold molecular hydrogen gas."

Combined data from two telescopes:optical and infrared observations from the James Webb Telescope (in the background) and detailed ALMA radio data (footnotes at the bottom of the image). Image: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/JWST/ P. Appleton (Caltech), B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

Stephan's Quintet is a group of five galaxies -NGC 7317, NGC 7318a, NGC 7318b, NGC 7319 and NGC 7320 are located about 270 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. This is a unique laboratory for observing the collision of galaxies: there is usually a burst of star formation in the merger region, which makes it difficult to observe, but this is not the case here.

In a new study, astronomers observed thatwhat happens when one of the galaxies, NGC 7318b, collides with the group at a relative speed of about 800 km/s. For comparison, at this speed, a flight from the Earth to the Moon would take only 8 minutes.

Scientists have found that NGC 7318b is colliding withan old gas spit that formed during the interaction between two other galaxies. A new collision causes the formation of a giant shock wave, the authors note.

Since the shock wave passes through thislumpy streamer, it creates a very turbulent or unstable cooling layer, and it is in the regions affected by this violent activity that we observe unexpected patterns and recirculation of molecular hydrogen gas.

Philip Appleton, Caltech astronomer and study co-author

Researchers used the ALMA radio telescopeBand 6 to look at three key impact areas in detail and, for the first time, build a clear picture of how hydrogen gas moves within the impact area. At the center of the main shock wave, astronomers observed a giant cloud of cold molecules, which gradually disintegrates into pieces and stretches into a long tail of warm molecular hydrogen. 

The authors of the study believe that an analysis of this active region, a "hydrogen refinery", will help them better understand the mechanisms that drive star formation.

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