Right ascension 23 59.3 Redshift 0.096 Group or cluster ACO 4096 | Declination −60° 42′ Distance 1.3 Gly (400 Mpc) | |
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The Bullet Galaxy (RXC J2359.3-6042 CC) is a galaxy in the galaxy cluster RXC J2359.3-6042 (Abell 4067 or ACO 4067). The Bullet Galaxy is the sole component of one half of a cluster merger between the bulk of the cluster and this galaxy, which is plowing through the cluster, similar to how merging clusters Bullet Cluster and Bullet Group have merged. Unlike those, this is an uneven merger between one galaxy and a much larger galaxy cluster. The cluster merger is happening at lower speed than the Bullet Cluster, thus allowing the core of the Bullet Galaxy to retain cool gas and remain relatively undisturbed by its passage through the larger cluster. This cluster merger is the first one observed between a single galaxy and a cluster. The galaxy and cluster lies at redshift z=0.0992, some 1.4×109 ly (4.3×108 pc) away. The galaxy is traveling through the cluster at a speed of 1,310 km/s (2,900,000 mph).
By studying this unique merging, researchers can gain insight on dark matter, and how it interacts with other objects in space. According to astrophysicists James Bullock, "Galaxy clusters that are merging with each other represent interesting laboratories for this kind of question,” when he was speaking of dark matter and the Bullet cluster.