Astronomers Intrigued by Galaxy Blasting Its Neighbor With Giant Energy Beam

As two distant galaxies trade blows in an ancient duel billions of years old, one belligerent has clearly proven itself more ruthless than the other. Each time the galaxies conclude their posturing and charge in for a clash, one of them impales its opponent with a powerful beam of radiation, crippling its ability to form new stars. In cosmic terms, it's the definition of a below the belt blow — and a massive one at that. This lopsided showdown was reported in a new study set to be published in the journal Nature, marking the first observation of a galaxy blasting its neighbor with radiation, and furthers our understanding of the huge galactic meat grinders known as quasars. "We hence call this system the 'cosmic joust'," said study co-lead author Pasquier Noterdaeme, a researcher at the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, in a statement about the work. The light we're seeing from this joust is over 11 billion years old, dating it to when the universe was less than one-fifth of its c ... Read full article.