October 27, 2007

The Last Survivor of a Cosmic Clash


Hubble telescope's most recent addition to its list of already impressive cosmic phenomena is disocvery of a quasar, MC2 1635+11.9, surrounded by the "shells" of stars. It resides in the MC2 1635+119, the host galaxy.

Researchers are suggesting that these star remnants are the casualties of a cosmic collision between two galaxies. This supports current views that many quasars are formed between galactic collisions.

Quasars are some of the brightest objects in the universe and exist in the centers of galaxies and are fueled by blackholes.