Strange glowing 'bow-and-arrow' structure may be a giant cosmic shock wave created by a supersonic galaxy collision

A bizarre radio galaxy discovered by a citizen scientist has left astronomers puzzled, revealing a never-before-seen "bow-and-arrow" structure that could offer rare insight into how galaxies are reshaped by colossal shock waves as they plunge through galaxy clusters.

Named RAD-BAARG (short for Radio Bow-And-Arrow Radio Galaxy), the object spans nearly 1.8 million light-years across, making it almost 18 times wider than the Milky Way. Its unusual structure was first identified by a citizen scientist participating in the RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory, which allows volunteers to review telescope data and flag unusual features that might otherwise be missed.

Astronomers say they haven't seen anything like it. "The structure of this source is unlike that of any radio galaxy I have seen in the last 25 years," the University of Mumbai's Ananda Hota said in Read Entire Article