Cosmic Shockwave Reshaped a Newly Discovered “Bow and Arrow” Galaxy
SMRTR summary
A citizen astronomer scrolling through radio telescope data spotted something that stopped researchers cold: a galaxy shooting out radio emissions shaped like a cosmic bow and arrow.
Dubbed RAD-BAARG, this galaxy stretches 1.8 million light-years across, nearly 18 times the size of the Milky Way. Most radio galaxies emit symmetric beams from their central black holes. This one is wildly different, with one beam curving backward into a massive arc and another twisting like a snake.
"The structure of this source is unlike that of any radio galaxy I've seen in the last 25 years," said Ananda Hota, author of a study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Scientists believe the strange shape comes from RAD-BAARG falling into a dense galaxy cluster, creating a bow shockwave that distorts its jets, much like the shockwave in front of a supersonic jet.
A big win for citizen science, and for anyone who loves a good cosmic mystery.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Nautilus.
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