The Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of JO204, a 'jellyfish galaxy' characterized by bright gas tendrils resembling jellyfish tentacles. These galaxies experience ram pressure stripping, which causes their loosely bound gas to collapse and form new stars in their tendrils. Here we see JO2
Hubble Space Telescope image of ‘jellyfish galaxy’ JO204. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Gullieuszik and the GASP team
Given the dreamy appearance of this image, it would be understandable to wonder why jellyfish galaxies should be such a crucible for star formation. The answer is that — as is often the case with astronomy — first appearances can be deceiving. Whilst the delicate ribbons of gas beneath JO204 may look like floating jellyfish tentacles, they are in fact the outcome of an intense astronomical process known as ram pressure stripping.
Ram pressure is a particular type of pressure exerted on a body when it moves relative to a fluid. An intuitive example is the sensation of pressure you experience when you are standing in an intense gust of wind — the wind is a moving fluid, and your body feels pressure from it. An extension of this analogy is that your body will remain whole and coherent, but the more loosely bound things — like your hair and your clothes — will flap in the wind. The same is true for jellyfish galaxies.
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