Astronomers detect galaxy cluster collision and protoplanetary disk structures

Astronomers have identified a collision between two galaxy clusters located behind the Milky Way. By combining X-ray observations from Chandra and eROSITA with radio data from LOFAR and uGMRT, researchers reconstructed a merger that occurred hundreds of millions of years ago. The collision involved massive reservoirs of hot gas and hundreds of galaxies. A unique radio signal, nicknamed ‘Treble Clef’ due to its shape, may be the result of a supermassive black hole's past activity being reactivated by the compression of the cluster merger.

In a separate finding, research led by Pietro Curone using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has revealed complex structures within compact protoplanetary disks. By observing 11 small disks in the Lupus star-forming region, the team identified rings, gaps, and cavities. These substructures, such as the central cavity in Sz 112, provide critical evidence regarding the formation processes of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes, suggesting that even small, compact disks undergo complex evolutionary stages previously thought to be limited to larger systems.