Breaking Up Star Clusters: The Source of Blue Light in NGC1275

NGC1275, the central galaxy of the Perseus Cluster, shows unusual bluish light in its inner regions. Levitskiy and colleagues argue this glow comes from the tidal disruption of super star clusters formed about 500 million years ago, triggered by activity from the galaxy’s black hole. The surviving clusters, disrupted stellar streams, and central spiral disk all fit into this unified scenario.