Massive Gas Bridge Discovered Linking Two Galaxies

Massive Gas Bridge Discovered Linking Two Galaxies
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Scientists at The University of Western Australia’s node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) have discovered an enormous structure stretching about 185,000 light-years between two galaxies, NGC 4532 and DDO 137, ScienceDaily reported.

Published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the study also revealed a colossal gas tail extending a further 1.6 million light-years, making it the largest feature of its kind ever observed.

Lead researcher Professor Lister Staveley-Smith said the structure formed through tidal forces and “ram pressure” as the galaxies interacted and moved toward the Virgo cluster’s superheated gas cloud. The process, occurring over a billion years, stripped gas from the galaxies and heated it.

The discovery, made using the ASKAP radio telescope under the WALLABY survey, sheds light on how galaxies exchange and lose gas. Researchers say it offers vital clues about galaxy evolution, star formation, and the dynamics shaping large-scale cosmic structures.