Scientists have discovered a stunning river of stars flowing through space. It’s 1.7 million light-years long, they say excitedly

• The researchers discovered something unexpected
• A giant stream of stars traveling through space

In a cluster of galaxies about 300 million light-years away from Earth, scientists have spotted a stellar stream flowing through intergalactic space, writes the Astronomy & Astrophysics server.

Don’t miss: Scientists test ‘miracle’ particle accelerator. It will help humanity with the development of cures for cancer and in the conquest of space

They found a river of stars flowing through space

The discovery is a huge surprise. In such a dynamic and gravitationally complex environment as a cluster of galaxies, something as fragile as a stellar stream should not have formed at all. Nevertheless, it apparently happened, and the surprising finding can be used by scientists to study galaxy clusters and the mysterious clumpy dark matter within them in more detail.

“We found this giant stream by accident,” says astrophysicist Javier Román of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. “We studied haloes of stars around large galaxies and found something extraordinary.”

Stellar streams are fairly common in the Milky Way galaxy. Scientists assume that these are the fragmented remnants of dense globular star clusters that have been torn apart by the tidal forces of our galaxy. However, they are difficult to identify; their connection is not immediately obvious because the distances to the stars are relatively difficult to measure and the currents are always relatively weak.

Scientists are interested in dark matter

“However, in recent years, modern telescope technology and analytical techniques have revealed more objects than we were able to identify in the past,” the researchers write. The newly discovered stream of stars is distinctly different from the thin filaments of the cosmic web that connect galaxies to each other and within clusters. It resembles the stellar streams inside the Milky Way, but on a much more epic scale.

Although galaxy clusters are relatively large and seemingly peaceful, they actually represent a chaotic environment. That’s why scientists were surprised when they spotted the stellar stream, officially named the Giant Coma Stream.

To get to the bottom of the mystery, they ran simulations and found that such stellar streams in a cluster of galaxies can indeed arise – specifically from dwarf galaxies that are torn apart by the gravity of larger galaxies.

Researchers expect that sooner or later the 1.7-million-light-year-long stellar stream will dissipate. However, its existence will serve a godly purpose — the study of dark matter.

Preview photo source: University of Groningen, source: Science Alert