Recent discoveries from scientists at the Hitomi Collaboration and researchers from MIT revealed that one of the largest known objects to exist in space, the Perseus cluster, is not moving around as fast as once suspected. It is estimated that the gas at the center of the galaxy cluster has a speed of around 164 kilometers per second, which is much slower than stars and galaxies found within the cluster.
This observation was made possible through the X-ray data collected by the Hitomi satellite. The mission was a collaboration between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and when the telescope was first designed, it was supposed to be able to travel the universe for around three years. However, complications happened, and the satellite spun out of control, causing damage to the solar panels and cutting off its only power supply. The mission ended up lasting a period of one month.
But, not all is doom and gloom as the Hitomi satellite still managed to collect one month’s worth of data from the Perseus cluster. All of this data will now be examined by experts to help uncover truths about the universe that we may not have previously known. By measuring just the velocity of the gas in the cluster, scientists can use this to understand better how galaxy clusters form. One thing that did surprise the scientists was the fact that the data showed spikes in the X-ray spectrum that suggested things were moving much slower up there than they had ever thought.
Although the mission might not have gone exactly as planned, the team are still both grateful and excited to be working with hat they have. The scientists will continue to study the results that the Hitomi satellite produced and are hopeful to be able to uncover more new discoveries as they progress.
Story Via; MIT News
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