JWST Identifies Cooling Gas in Phoenix Cluster, Unlock Star Formation Process

Observations from the James webb space telescope (JWS Phoenix clusterA Galaxy Cluster Located 5.8 Billion Light-Years Away. The discovery provides insights into how stars form despite the presence of a Supermassive Black Hole At Its Core. Researchers have confirmed that the cluster contains the largest knowledge reservoir of hot gas cooling at different rates.

JWST’s Role in Identifying The Missing Cooling Gas

According to a study Published in Nature, Data from JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (Miri) has allowed researchers to locate gas cooling at 540,000 degrees Fahrenheit (300,000 degrees Celsius). This gas was found trapped in cavities with the cluster, an area earlier unobservable.

Michael mcdonald, an astrophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Principal Investigator of the Study, told Space.com that earlier study failed to detect this gas beCause only the extrame temperature ends of the spectrum was measuraable.

Supermassive Black Hole and Star Formation in Phoenix Cluster

Despite a Central Black Hole Over 10 billion times the Mass of the Sun, The Phoenix Cluster Continues Forming Stars at an unprecedented rate. The discovery of trapped cooling gas helps explain this paradox.

The Findings Challenge Previous Assumptions About Galaxy Cluster Cooling Processes and Sugged that Similar Techniques Could Be Used to Study Other Clusters. The researchers aim to apply these methods to further understand cooling mechanisms in space.