Observations from the James Webb Telescope have helped astronomers uncover the process of extreme gas cooling in the Phoenix galaxy cluster, located 5.8 billion light-years from Earth. This cluster consists of around 1,000 galaxies, and its central galaxy, contrary to expectations, is actively producing stars at a rate of about 1,000 new stars per year. This is unusual for older galaxies, which typically show a lack of active star formation.
Researchers faced the question of how the central galaxy of Phoenix sustains such intense star formation, given that older clusters generally lack the cold gas clouds necessary for star formation. Through their study using the James Webb Telescope, scientists identified regions with “warm” gas, which confirmed the hypothesis that the gas in the cluster is actively cooling, supporting the ongoing star formation processes.
One of the key discoveries was the detection of an intermediate stage of gas, between hot and cold, with a temperature of about 300,000 K (540,000°F). This neon-emitting gas confirms that the central galaxy of Phoenix is generating its own fuel for star formation rather than borrowing it from neighboring galaxies. This discovery marks an important step in understanding star formation in old galaxies and allows scientists to further investigate their internal structure and evolution.
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