Discovery of cosmic 'Moon Bridge' one and a half times longer than the Milky Way

DNVN - A giant "light bridge" has just been recorded by scientists in deep space, with a length of up to 185,000 light years, far exceeding the diameter of the Milky Way itself.

This spectacular discovery was made by the ASKAP telescope system in the Western Australian desert, as part of the WALLABY Panorama Survey. Located about 53 million light-years from Earth, the bridge connects two dwarf galaxies, NGC 4532 and DDO 137, looking like a cosmic version of the legendary Magpie Bridge.

Mysterious bridge of light appears faintly in the universe, connecting two dwarf galaxies - Photo: ASKAP

According to Sci-News, this special structure is formed of neutral hydrogen gas, stretching 185,000 light-years across, larger than the diameter of the Milky Way (estimated to be 100,000-180,000 light-years wide). The image shows the bridge glowing faintly in radio light, with many intertwined gas and cloud branches, extending all the way to a giant gas "tail" 1.6 million light-years wide.

“This discovery opens up a unique opportunity to better understand how galaxies interact and evolve over time,” said Professor Lister Staveley-Smith (International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research - University of Western Australia).

As the two dwarf galaxies orbited each other and moved toward the Virgo Cluster, the powerful gravitational forces ripped neutral hydrogen gas away from them. At the same time, the pressure from the Virgo Cluster’s hot gaseous environment also stripped gas from the galaxies, creating a giant bridge connecting the two galaxies, a process that took place over billions of years, the researchers explained.

Interestingly, this system of two dwarf galaxies shares many characteristics with the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies. Therefore, studying the hydrogen “Magnetic Bridge” could help scientists better understand how matter is redistributed in the galaxy, as well as the conditions that determine the formation of new stars.

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