Blast Off with the 2026 Astronomy Science Olympiad Practice Test – Reach for the Stars!

Perseus A, also known as Abell 426, is a prominent galaxy cluster located approximately 240 million light-years away from Earth. This cluster is particularly notable for its emission of X-rays, which are primarily produced by the hot, intracluster medium. The gas within the cluster reaches extremely high temperatures due to gravitational forces, which causes it to emit radiation in the X-ray spectrum.

The X-rays detected from Perseus A originate from the high-energy interactions and the thermal radiation of the electron population within the hot gas that fills the space between galaxies. Space-based X-ray observatories, like Chandra, have provided detailed images and spectra of Perseus A, revealing significant X-ray emission, which is indicative of the presence of this high-temperature plasma.

In contrast, while gamma rays, infrared radiation, and radio waves are important in various astrophysical contexts, they do not characterize Perseus A as sharply as the X-ray emission does. Gamma rays typically arise from processes such as supernovae or phenomena involving neutron stars and black holes, while infrared and radio waves are associated with cooler cosmic structures or different mechanisms, which are less dominant in this galaxy cluster than X-ray emissions. Hence, the distinctiveness of X-ray luminosity marks Perse