包含數(shù)以億計恒星的星系團(tuán)即將發(fā)生碰撞

包含數(shù)以億計恒星的星系團(tuán)即將發(fā)生碰撞

It might be the biggest bang since the Big Bang.

這可能是自宇宙大爆炸以來最大的一次爆炸。

Astronomers have, for the first time, spotted two galactic clusters about to smash into one another.

天文學(xué)家首次觀測到兩個星系團(tuán)即將相撞。

When it happens, they'll create a "hot belt" of gas 100 million degrees - more than 18,000 times hotter than the sun.

星系團(tuán)碰撞時，將產(chǎn)生一個1億度的熱量，比太陽高出18000倍。

"X-ray and radio images of these clusters show the first clear evidence for this type of merger shock," said Liyi Gu of the Japanese research institute Riken.

日本理研所(Riken)的顧立義表示：“這些星系團(tuán)的x射線和射電圖像首次清晰地證明了這種融合碰撞的存在。。”

Galaxy clusters are huge - each consisting of hundreds of galaxies and hundreds of billions of stars.

星系團(tuán)是巨大的——每個星系團(tuán)都由數(shù)百個星系和數(shù)千億顆恒星組成。

"As the collision takes more than a lifetime, catching the moment they first touch has proved elusive," the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research said in a statement.

國際射電天文學(xué)研究中心在一份聲明中說：“由于這次碰撞需要超過一生的時間，人們很難捕捉到它們第一次碰撞的瞬間。”

"It is like finding a raindrop that just touches the water surface in a photograph of a pond during a rain shower."

“這就像在一場陣雨中，要拍到第一滴雨接觸水面的瞬間。”

The two clusters about to collide are known as 1E 2216.0- 0401 and 1E 2215.7-0404.

這兩個即將碰撞的星系團(tuán)分別是1E 2216.0- 0401和1E 2215.7-0404。

The astronomers hope the merger helps them learn more about how the universe evolves on an intergalactic scale.

天文學(xué)家希望這次碰撞融合，能幫助他們更多地了解宇宙是如何在星系間演化的。

The research was published in journal Nature Astronomy on Tuesday morning.

這項研究發(fā)表在周二上午的《自然天文學(xué)》雜志上。