On April 1st 2022, Dr Mpati Ramatsoku from Rhodes University gave a seminar on galaxy cluster dynamics for the Astrophysics Research Centre at the University of KwaZulu Natal. Mpati’s research makes primary use of MeerKAT HI (the hydrogen 21 cm line) observations and MUSE optical datacubes to simultaneously study the dynamics of the cold neutral gas and warm ionised medium within galaxy clusters. The sample of clusters Mpati and her team have selected for investigation reside in the local Universe. Moreover, the galaxies contained within these clusters show evidence for intense interactions that strip galaxies of their gravitationally bound halo gas.
For more on the finer details of Mpati’s research, watch the recording of her talk (video link below).