The Discovery of one Galaxy "Attacking" Another

It is believed that most galaxies have a black hole at their centre, and that most of these black holes are classified as "super massive", the largest and most powerful of their kind. It has been observed that many of these super massive black holes produce "jets" of energy that fire off from them, shooting powerful radiation out over huge stellar distances. All of this is fairly common in the universe, but what isn't common is the jet from one galaxy ripping into the heart of a neighbouring galaxy, a situation recently discovered by the scientific community.

A Million Years New

While we on Earth just discovered this phenomenon, dating methods put this situation's beginning at about one million years ago; a relatively short time in the lifespan of a galactic system. This is significant for a few reasons, one of which is that this assault behaviour isn't happening anywhere else in the system, suggesting that this is a fairly unique occurrence. This excites scientists studying the event, as it means they are fortunate enough to have "caught it".

Jets

The jets that come from super massive black holes are a known factor of the universe, but little is understood about them. We know that they happen and can guess as to why, and we know roughly what they are, but little else is known. The opportunity to study the occurrences of a jet ripping into a galaxy in the area known as 3C321 is a chance for scientists to learn more about jets… not to mention their impact on galaxies that happen to get in their way.

3c321

These two galaxies are fairly close in relative terms, about 20,000 light years apart. This is approximately the distance from Earth to the centre of the Milky Way. They are the only two galaxies in the 3c321 system, and they orbit around each other. The larger galaxy is the one with the offending jet, which is pummeling the smaller. But what could possibly happen when this massive quantity of radiation rips through a galaxy?

Death, Destruction, Rebirth

There will be chaos and destruction that results from the jet's intrusion on the smaller galaxy, that much is fairly certain. Large amounts of radioactivity can rip apart the atmosphere of a planet, which alone can cause massive change and potential destruction. On the up side, however, all that radiation can result in the birth of new stars in the wake of the destruction.

The larger galaxy has been dubbed the "Death Star" galaxy by the press, and it and its behaviour were discovered in a joint effort that combined telescopes on earth and in space. The Spitzer Space Telescope was part of the effort, as were NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope.

Final Thoughts

Like many things when it comes to mankind's understanding of the universe, much about the conditions and eventual results of the death star activity in 3c321 will be left for us to guess at. Anything we can observe, we will, but the long term affects of a super massive black hole jet's attack on a neighbouring galaxy will take potentially millions of years to play out.