Overview
- The newly released view combines Chandra X-ray data with optical imagery from the Legacy Surveys (DECaLS/BASS/MzLS).
- Elongated, multimillion-degree gas and two galaxy concentrations identify the system as a collision between separate clusters.
- The forming system contains more than 100 galaxies, with hot gas outweighing the galaxies and an even larger share in dark matter.
- An Astrophysical Journal study led by UC Davis proposes two timelines: a return collision after more than 2 billion years or a single event about 400 million years ago, with further observations needed to distinguish them.
- Astronomers compare the system to the Bullet Cluster, underscoring its promise for probing how dark matter behaves in high-speed cluster crashes.