NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has provided insights into the powerful winds emanating from the center of the spiral galaxy NGC 253, located 11.4 million light-years from Earth. This galaxy, which forms stars two to three times faster than our Milky Way, experiences the loss of approximately two million Earth masses of hot gas each year due to these winds. The study revealed that instead of being uniformly spherical as previously thought, the winds from NGC 253 are focused and diminish in density and temperature with distance from the galaxy’s center. These winds result from the intense activity of young massive stars and supernovae, crucial to the stellar life cycle and the enrichment of intergalactic space with life-sustaining elements. Researchers led by Sebastian Lopez found that the wind’s composition has a notable gradient, becoming more diluted further from the galaxy’s center. This phenomenon points toward super star clusters at the heart of NGC 253 as a significant source of the winds, although discrepancies with existing theoretical models suggest a need for further investigation into the underlying physics. Overall, NGC 253 serves as a key subject for understanding star formation and galactic evolution. The study’s findings are documented in The Astrophysical Journal.
