NASA has found an active galaxy far, far away that seems frighteningly reminiscent of a TIE fighter from “Star Wars.”
The galaxy, known as TXS 0128 + 554, is 500 million light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. TXS 0128 + 554 is considered an active star system because it emits more light than all its stars combined. In 2015, researchers found TXS 0128 + 554 was a “faint source of gamma radiation”, but it wasn’t until recently that they went for a closer look.
“After the Fermi announcement, we zoomed in a million times closer to the Milky Way with the [Very Long Baseline Array’s] radio antennas and their shape have been mapped over time, ”Purdue University professor and research leader author Matthew Lister said in a statement. “The first time I saw the results, I immediately thought it looked like Darth Vader’s TIE fighter jet from ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.’ That was a nice surprise, but performing on different radio frequencies also helped us learn more about how active galaxies can change dramatically on time scales. “
This image shows TXS 0128 at 15.4 gigahertz as rated by the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), a worldwide network of radio antennas. The colors correspond to the intensity of the radio signal, from low (purple) to high (yellow). Credits: NRAO
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TXS 0128 + 554 has a “supermassive black hole” that is thought to be 1 billion times the mass of the sun, which could provide a reason for the gamma-ray emission.
The galaxy also produces two jets, “beams of high-energy particles that travel at almost the speed of light in opposite directions,” giving it the TIE fighter-like appearance. It is believed that these jets may produce some of the gamma ray emissions.
The researchers used NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory to look at the Milky Way to get a better idea of what it looks like.
This illustration shows two views of the active galaxy TXS 0128 + 554, about 500 million light-years away. Left: The galaxy’s central jets appear as if they were both at the same angle. Right: The galaxy appears in its true orientation, with its jets tilted about 50 degrees beyond our line of sight. (Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center)
“The real world universe is three-dimensional, but when we look at space, we normally see only two dimensions,” added student co-author Daniel Homan. ‘In this case, we are lucky, because the galaxy is in such a way, from our perspective, that the light from the far lobe travels tens of more light-years to reach us than the light from nearer. This means that we see the further lap at an earlier point in its evolution. ”
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The study was published in The Astrophysical Journal.
TXS 0128 + 554 is not the only “Star Wars” linked discovery in space in recent memory.
In June 2016, exoplanet Kepler-1647 b was discovered 3,700 light-years from Earth. It is part of a double star system, similar to Luke Skywalker’s planet Tatooine. Three years later, exoplanet LTT 1445 A b and the three stars were discovered.
Researchers discovered what they described in August 2019 as “the first volcanic active exam”, a celestial body reminiscent of the small, fierce “Star Wars” planet, Mustafar, where Anakin Skywalker changed into Darth Vader.
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