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- NASA scientists have detected a massive halo of plasma surrounding the nearby Andromeda galaxy.
- The halo, a massive orb of influence that extends deep into space, reaches as far as the middle of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
- Eventually, Andromeda and the Milky Way are expected to merge into one galaxy.
We hear a lot about the Milky Way and that makes sense since it is the galaxy we live in, but not far away there is another galaxy that is as interesting as ours. It is the Andromeda galaxy, and despite being 2.5 million light-years away (“not too far” is relative when it comes to deep space), there is much it could teach us about itself and perhaps even our own. own galaxy.
Now, in a new study published in The Astrophysical JournalScientists at NASA have detected what they call a “halo” around Andromeda. The halo, which looks more like a huge plasma flower, stretches 1.3 million light-years into space. That’s roughly halfway across our own galaxy, which is an impressive feat.
We often think of galaxies as autonomous collections of stars, planets, and gases, but that is not the case. The effects of a galaxy extend far beyond its outer edge. In fact, the line between the edge of a galaxy and empty space is so blurred that there is hardly a real “edge”. In the case of Andromeda, the plasma halo is so massive that it absolutely dwarfs the size of the galaxy itself.
“Understanding the huge gas halos that surround galaxies is immensely important,” said Samantha Berek of Yale University, a co-author of the research, in a statement. “This reservoir of gas contains fuel for future star formation within the galaxy, as well as outputs from events such as supernovae. It is full of clues about the past and future evolution of the galaxy, and we can finally study it in great detail in our closest galactic neighbor. “
But how did NASA scientists detect this massive halo from such a distance? Well, they kind of cheated. Rather than trying to detect the plasma itself, the researchers observed the light from quasars located much further away than Andromeda itself. They measured the light from the quasars in relation to how close they appeared to Andromeda, from our perspective here on Earth. The thicker the plasma halo, the more light from the quasar will be absorbed before it can reach Earth, giving researchers a ton of new data points, 43 to be exact, to work with.
“Previously, there was very little information, just six quasars, within 1 million light years of the galaxy. This new program provides much more information about this inner region of the Andromeda halo ”, explains J. Christopher Howk, co-author of the work. “Testing gas within this radius is important, as it represents a kind of gravitational sphere of influence for Andromeda.”
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in virtual reality, wearable devices, smartphones, and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as a technology editor at The Daily Dot and has been featured in USA Today, Time.com, and many other print and web media. His love of reporting is second only to his addiction to games.
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