Image: Continuum Image from MeerKAT at 1000 MHz overlaid on an XMM data, showing unusual threads connecting radio emission lobes of ESO 137-006 (M. Ramatsoku et al., 2020, A&A)

Abstract: In this talk, I will discuss the interesting case of the ESO 137-006. This galaxy which resides near the centre of the Great Attractor, in the Norma galaxy cluster, is among the brightest radio galaxies in the southern hemisphere. The MeerKAT continuum images at 1000 MHz and 1400 MHz ( ∼10″ resolution) have revealed new features in the form collimated synchrotron threads linking the radio lobes of  ESO 137-006.  The finding is, at present, baffling since these features have never been seen before in a radio galaxy. It is difficult to explain why, when and how these threads could have formed, or why they are so collimated and uniform.

Breve CV della Dr. Mpati Ramatsoku

Mpati Ramatsoku graduated in Astrophysics in 2017 at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) and the University of Cape Town (South Africa) with a PhD thesis focusing on the 21 cm line emission (HI) observations to study the dynamics of large-scale structures in the local Universe and the architecture of galaxy clusters. After graduation, she joined the MeerKAT Fornax Survey (MFS) team as a postdoctoral researcher at the Cagliari Astronomical Observatory to study the role played by HI gas in galaxy formation and evolution. She is currently a research fellow at Rhodes University (South Africa) and an associate at INAF-AOC with a research based on environmental effects on the transformation of galaxies.