Jan 10, 2024 06:51 PM
https://www.sciencealert.com/huge-myster...xplanation
INTRO: Mysterious, ghostly circles in deep space [odd radio circles (ORCs)] that have been baffling astronomers since their discovery in 2019 might finally have an explanation. According to a new analysis, the faintly glowing, giant blobs are shockwaves carved by tremendous winds blowing out from galaxies at their centers.
These aren't just ordinary galaxies, though. They are galaxies that have undergone or are going through starbursting – a period of intense star formation, a literal burst of massive stars that are born and die in rapid succession, ending their lives in spectacular supernovae.
"These galaxies are really interesting," explains astrophysicist Alison Coil of the University of California San Diego, who led the research. "They occur when two big galaxies collide. The merger pushes all the gas into a very small region, which causes an intense burst of star formation. Massive stars burn out quickly and when they die, they expel their gas as outflowing winds."
The team's analysis suggests that this gas is then pushed outward and caught up in the galactic winds that stream from the galaxy, creating a powerful, spherical outflow that creates a shockfront where it slams into the surrounding, tenuous intergalactic medium... (MORE - details)
INTRO: Mysterious, ghostly circles in deep space [odd radio circles (ORCs)] that have been baffling astronomers since their discovery in 2019 might finally have an explanation. According to a new analysis, the faintly glowing, giant blobs are shockwaves carved by tremendous winds blowing out from galaxies at their centers.
These aren't just ordinary galaxies, though. They are galaxies that have undergone or are going through starbursting – a period of intense star formation, a literal burst of massive stars that are born and die in rapid succession, ending their lives in spectacular supernovae.
"These galaxies are really interesting," explains astrophysicist Alison Coil of the University of California San Diego, who led the research. "They occur when two big galaxies collide. The merger pushes all the gas into a very small region, which causes an intense burst of star formation. Massive stars burn out quickly and when they die, they expel their gas as outflowing winds."
The team's analysis suggests that this gas is then pushed outward and caught up in the galactic winds that stream from the galaxy, creating a powerful, spherical outflow that creates a shockfront where it slams into the surrounding, tenuous intergalactic medium... (MORE - details)