The Bullet Group (SL2S J08544-0121) is a newly merging

group of galaxies A galaxy group or group of galaxies (GrG) is an aggregation of galaxies comprising about 50 or fewer gravitationally bound members, each at least as luminous as the Milky Way (about 1010 times the luminosity of the Sun); collections of galaxies ...

, a merger between two galaxy groups to form a new larger one, that recently had a high speed collision between the two component groups. The group exhibits separation between its

dark matter Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe. Dark matter is called "dark" because it does not appear to interact with the electromagnetic field, which means it does not ab ...

and

baryonic matter In particle physics, a baryon is a type of composite subatomic particle which contains an odd number of valence quarks (at least 3). Baryons belong to the hadron family of particles; hadrons are composed of quarks. Baryons are also classified ...

components. The galaxies occur in two clumps, while the gas has expanded into a billowing cloud encompassing all three clumps. As of 2014, it is one of the few galaxy clusters known to show separation between the dark matter and baryonic matter components. The group is named after the Bullet Cluster, a similar merging

galaxy cluster A galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 1014 to 1015 solar masses. They are the second-l ...

, except on a smaller scale, being of groups instead of clusters. The bimodal distribution of galaxies was found at discovery in 2008. The galaxy group is a

gravitational lens A gravitational lens is a distribution of matter (such as a cluster of galaxies) between a distant light source and an observer that is capable of bending the light from the source as the light travels toward the observer. This effect is known ...

and strongly lenses a more distant

galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...

behind it, at z=~1.2

Characteristics

As of 2014, the group is the smallest mass object to exhibit separation between its dark matter and baryonic matter components. The galaxy group is dominated by one elliptical galaxy, situated in one of the two concentrations, while the other node has two large bright galaxies, which do not dominate the group. The group has an apparent radius of 200

arcsecond A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The na ...

s, and a virial radius of 1

megaparsec The parsec (symbol: pc) is a unit of length used to measure the large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System, approximately equal to or (au), i.e. . The parsec unit is obtained by the use of parallax and trigonometry, and ...

References

{{galaxy Galaxy clusters Dark matter Hydra (constellation)

Characteristics

See also

References