Galaxy clusters are part of the large-scale structure of our universe. Over the past thirteen billion years or so, what started as an almost smooth distribution of matter has evolved to a swiss cheese of walls, threads, and clusters of matter defined by the gravitational pull of more massive regions on the now-emptying voids of lower density regions. It has long been thought that galaxies should stream along the walls and threads toward the highest density regions, and now, for the first time, a galaxy has been caught doing just that. 

Radio, optical, and X-ray observations together describe an active galaxy that has two large jets streaming out of its central supermassive black hole and getting bent to stream behind the galaxy as it moves through the sky. According to study lead author Angie Veronica, the jets of matter are streaming out behind it “like the braids of a running girl.” It’s always amazing when the science is right and the images are weird and awesome.

More Information

Macquarie University press release

“The eROSITA View of the Abell 3391/95 Field: The Northern Clump — The Largest Infalling Structure in the Longest Known Gas Filament Observed with eROSITA, XMM-Newton, Chandra,” Angie Veronica et al., to be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics (preprint on arxiv.org)