Astronomers from South Africa and India have discovered a new radio galaxy. The object was designated as J1615 + 5452; its length is 300,000 light-years. Information on this has been published on arXiv.org.
This galaxy emits a huge amount of radio waves from its central nuclei. Black holes in the centers of these galaxies accumulate gas and dust, creating high-energy jets visible on radio waves that accelerate electrically charged particles to high speeds.
During the active stage (lasting about 100 million years), a typical radio galaxy contains features such as the core, petals, jets, and hot spots. However, after this stage passes, these signs of activity usually disappear.
We used archival low-frequency observations at frequencies of 150 MHz, 325 MHz and 1400 MHz from a very large matrix to obtain the original radio spectrum and restore the history of the activity of the radio galaxy. The characteristics of J1615 + 5452, combined with its spectral properties and the age of the synchrotron, helped us classify this as a dying radio galaxy.
Zara Randriamanakoto, South African Astronomical Observatory
Scientists have found that the age of the synchrotron source is about 76 million years, and it is estimated that the galaxy spent 30% of its total lifetime in the decay phase.
Astronomers are interested in finding new remnants of radio galaxies in order to study the final stage of their evolution. Therefore, they are an important subject for study, with which you can understand the life cycle of a celestial body.
