Skip to Main Content  Galaxies in Collision  Pin it optical
picture of Abell 2142 with x-ray contoursMarch 1, 2000 --
Pictures of a colossal cosmic "weather system" produced by the
collision of two giant clusters of galaxies have been captured
by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. For the first time, the
pressure fronts in the system can be traced in detail, and they
show a bright, but relatively cool 50 million degree central
region embedded in large elongated cloud of 70 million degree
gas, all of which is roiling in a faint "atmosphere" of 100
million degree gas.  Right: The two large elliptical galaxies
indicated by arrows in the center of this optical image are
thought to be the central galaxies of two merging galaxy
clusters. Together, the two merging clusters form a single
object astronomers call Abell 2142. The optical image is
overlaid with X-ray brightness contours. The bright source in
the upper left is an active galaxy in the cluster.    The
Chandra data provides the first detailed look at the late