First Measurement of Universe’s Most Violent Wind

Scientists have measured the speed of hot gas from M82, a galaxy that forms stars much faster than the Milky Way. The gas moves at over 3 million kilometres per hour, which could push gas into space and create an outflow stretching thousands of light-years.

This discovery comes from the XRISM spacecraft, a mission by JAXA and NASA. Its sensitive instrument detected X-ray emissions from heated iron at M82’s centre. The findings, published in Nature, help answer a long-standing question about what drives the outflow visible from this galaxy.

M82 and similar galaxies are interesting to scientists because they burn through their gas rapidly. This creates strong winds and massive gas flows that change the galaxy and its surroundings. Understanding these winds is important for learning how galaxies evolve and how stars are formed.

The researchers used the Doppler effect, which is the change in sound pitch when a source moves. They found that iron is moving outward in many directions, revealing a wind velocity over 3 million kilometres per hour. The gas temperature was about 25 million degrees Celsius, creating strong outward pressure.

While the new data supports previous theories about shockwaves causing winds, it also raises questions. M82 seems to release enough material to form seven solar masses of stars each year, but four of those are unaccounted for. Scientists must now find where these missing masses go.

How much do you know?

What is the speed of hot gas from M82?

1 million kilometres per hour

2 million kilometres per hour

3 million kilometres per hour

4 million kilometres per hour

Which two space agencies are involved in the XRISM spacecraft mission?

NASA and ESA

NASA and JAXA

JAXA and ESA

NASA and Roscosmos

In which journal were the findings about M82 published?

Science

Nature

Astrophysical Journal

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

What temperature was the gas at M82 approximately?

15 million degrees Celsius

20 million degrees Celsius

25 million degrees Celsius

30 million degrees Celsius

How many solar masses of stars does M82 seem to release each year?

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

What phenomenon did the researchers use to study the movement of iron in M82?

Redshift

Blue shift

Doppler effect

Gravitational lensing

The gas from M82 moves slower than the speed of sound.

True False

The heated iron emissions were detected at the center of M82.

True False

M82 releases exactly seven solar masses of stars each year.

True False

Understanding the winds from M82 is unimportant for understanding galaxy evolution.

True False

The gas temperature at M82 is about 25 million degrees Celsius.

True False

Shockwaves causing winds are a new theory regarding M82.

True False

The gas from M82 moves at over kilometres per hour.

The mission by JAXA and NASA is called .

The findings about M82 help answer questions about what drives visible from this galaxy.

The temperature of the gas was about million degrees Celsius.

M82 seems to release enough material to form seven solar of stars each year.

Scientists are trying to find where the masses go in M82.

This question is required