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December 31, 2025<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Cheers! Ring in the New Year with Glittering \u2018Champagne Cluster\u2019 Image<\/p>\n A galaxy cluster discovered on New Year\u2019s Eve in 2020 shines in a new image from NASA\u2019s Chandra X-Ray Observatory<\/p>\n By Meghan Bartels edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n X-ray: NASA\/CXC\/UCDavis\/F. Bouhrik et al.; Optical: Legacy Survey\/DECaLS\/BASS\/MzLS; Image processing: NASA\/CXC\/SAO\/P. Edmonds and L. Frattare<\/p>\n Raise a toast to another orbit around the sun with a new NASA image of sparkling galaxy clusters fittingly dubbed the \u201cChampagne Cluster.\u201d<\/p>\n The object was first discovered on December 31, 2020. But the new image combines data from NASA\u2019s Chandra X-ray Observatory\u2014which sees the superheated gas of the merging clusters as purple bubbles\u2014and a collection of ground-based optical telescopes that contribute the starry background.<\/p>\n When the Champagne Cluster was first observed, astronomers thought the celestial object\u2014formally named RM J130558.9+263048.4\u2014was a single galaxy cluster, but subsequent observations have revealed that it is in fact two clusters interacting. All told, the merger involves more than 100 galaxies\u2014plus enough multimillion-degree gas to outweigh them all.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n Scientists have two theories to explain the Champagne Cluster\u2019s distinct appearance. Both of them were outlined in research published earlier this year in the Astrophysical Journal.<\/p>\n The first hypothesis is that the two clusters first collided more than two billion years ago, blowing past each other before being trapped in a gravitational dance that will eventually see them smash together again. According to the second theory, the clusters\u2019 collision happened just 400 million years ago, and the two objects are now zipping away from each other. Either way, the researchers say, the clusters crashed into each other practically head-on.<\/p>\n The Champagne Cluster is a particularly interesting object for astronomers looking to understand dark matter, which is invisible to all telescopes but exerts a gravitational tug on everything around it. Scientists believe this enigmatic stuff is unlikely to interact with itself\u2014and massive collisions between galaxy clusters such as the Champagne Cluster or a similar object dubbed the Bullet Cluster could be just the place to spot its strange behavior.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" December 31, 2025 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Cheers! Ring in the New Year with Glittering \u2018Champagne Cluster\u2019 Image A galaxy cluster discovered on New Year\u2019s Eve in 2020 shines in a new image from NASA\u2019s Chandra X-Ray Observatory By Meghan Bartels edited by Claire Cameron X-ray: NASA\/CXC\/UCDavis\/F. Bouhrik et al.; Optical:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[21530,15150,12803,8215,3331,905,17042,1569],"class_list":{"0":"post-39819","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-champagne","9":"tag-cheers","10":"tag-cluster","11":"tag-image","12":"tag-nasa","13":"tag-rings","14":"tag-sparkling","15":"tag-year"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n