1
$\begingroup$

Recently I looked into the hottest(and coldest, but in another question) natural places. I find this to be a "cloud of searing gas that is surrounding a swarm of galaxies clustered together five billion light-years away in the constellation of Virgo". This place has a temperature of 300 million degrees Celsius, which is super hot even compared to the temperature at our Sun's core. A quick search why gives:

A group of galaxies collided violently with another swarm of galaxies at a speed of 2,500 miles per second.

https://www.skymania.com/wp/hottest-spot-in-universe-found/

However, what mechanism exactly causes this temperature? Friction? Or something else? Would stars there be fusing stuff from the outside?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ When things collide inelastically, their organised motion is turned primarily into disorganised motion within the material that is stuck together (and/or pieces flying off in all directions), which is what we know as heat. So the atoms of gas in these clouds collided and bounced off in all directions, where they hit other atoms, until the two clouds had formed one, with huge random internal motions (ie very hot), held in place by the gravity of all the galaxies in the clusters. The gas is so thin that it will have little effect on the stars within it, I think. $\endgroup$ – Steve Linton Mar 7 '19 at 14:36
0
$\begingroup$

Within that galaxy cluster, things become chaotic as these galaxies are flung around but kept in orbit by their strong gravity. And as Steven Linton mentioned,

the galaxy's organized motion is turned primarily into disorganized motion within the material that is stuck together, which is what we know as heat. So the atoms of gas in these clouds collided and bounced off in all directions, where they hit other atoms, until the two clouds had formed one, with huge random internal motions (i.e. very hot).

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.