‘Nikhuli’: The stellar cluster that took 2 years to capture Nagaland’s attention

September 24, 2024 15 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Dimapur | September 24

In a truly cosmic case of ‘better late than never,’ a two year-old NASA report about a cluster of stars named ‘Nikhuli’ is now creating a stir in Nagaland. Despite being a part of NASA’s documentation since 2022, the cluster acting as a kind of black hole delivery system between two galaxies about 54 million light years away only recently grabbed the attention of Naga netizens.

Named ‘Nikhuli’, this celestial phenomenon has sparked excitement among locals who are proud to see a piece of their culture etched into the cosmos. The authors of the study named the cluster of stars ‘Nikhuli,’ which according to the NASA report is a name relating to the Tuluni festive period of celebrating and wishing for a rich harvest. This name is taken from the Sumi language.

The study using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope outlines how a large black hole may have been delivered to the spiral galaxy NGC 4424 by another, smaller galaxy.

The authors of the study are Alister Graham (Swinburne Astronomy Online, Australia), Roberto Soria (University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China), Bogdan Ciambur (The Paris Observatory, France), Benjamin Davis (New York University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), and Douglas Swartz (NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama).

The name ‘Nikhuli’ was suggested by the team. According to another 2022 report from the Swinburne University of Technology, it seemed appropriate to the astronomers, who refer to space as ‘the field’ and whose discovery focuses on how a larger galaxy has harvested a smaller galaxy.

The study details how the ‘Nikhuli’ acts as a “stellar delivery service” flinging out material from a companion star at incredible speeds. This astronomical activity is akin to what one might describe as a cosmic recycling process.