Astronomers have captured a rare image of two galaxies colliding in the early universe, likening it to a medieval joust due to intense quasar radiation piercing one galaxy. The collision is 11 billion light-years away and marks the first time such an event has been witnessed.
The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile captured the image, which shows one galaxy colliding with another at speeds of 310 miles per second. The quasar on the right is a supermassive black hole consuming gas and dust, producing a glowing disk that inhibits star formation.
The collision leaves one galaxy in a worse state than before, while the other becomes stronger due to the influx of fuel for its supermassive black hole. This type of merger brings huge amounts of gas to these massive black holes at the center of galaxies, according to researcher Sergey Balashev.
The historic image provides new insights into the internal structure of an otherwise regular galaxy and marks a significant discovery in the study of galaxy collisions. The European Space Agency described quasars as “among the most luminous objects in the known universe,” emitting thousands of times more light than the Milky Way.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/space-photo-of-the-week-violent-galaxies-seen-jousting-near-the-dawn-of-time