Terrifying cosmic TSUNAMI could 'swallow Earth' in seconds.
The group of scientists said they discovered the vast wave of hot gas in
the nearby Perseus galaxy cluster.And stretching across 200,000 light years,
the wave is estimated to be around twice the size of our Milky Way galaxy.
It means the space phenomenon could devour Planet Earth, which is barely
a fraction of the size of it.
The incredible discovery was revealed in a study published in the
journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Experts believe the wave formed billions of years ago after a small
galaxy cluster grazed Perseus and triggered it to release its masses of gas
which then started sloshing about.
Stephen Walker, the lead scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight
Centre, said: “Perseus is one of the most massive nearby clusters and the
brightest one in X-rays, so Chandra (X-ray observatory) data provide us with
unparalleled detail.
“The wave we’ve identified is associated with the flyby of a smaller
cluster, which shows that the merger activity that produced these giant
structures is still ongoing.”
Last year, fears were raised that deadly cosmic rays could strike Earth after a crack in the planet’s magnetic
shield was discovered.
An investigation showed harmful rays pass through the
shield during a powerful geomagnetic storm.
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