These Two Cosmic 'Chimneys' Could Be Fueling the Galaxy-Sized Bubbles Looming Over the Milky Way
These Two Cosmic 'Chimneys' Could Be Fueling the Galaxy-Sized Bubbles Looming Over the Milky Way
By Brandon Specktor, Senior Writer | March 20, 2019 02:00pm ET
- click for image -
https://img.purch.com/h/1400/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlc2NpZW5jZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzEwNC84Mjcvb3JpZ2luYWwvc2FnZ2l0YXJpdXMtYS1jaGltbmV5cy5qcGc=
Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is a bright bloom of radio waves thought to contain the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. In this x-ray map of the galactic center, researchers discovered two large ‘chimneys’ of plasma leaking out of the Sgr A* region, and seemingly dumping hot matter into two enormous gas bubbles called the Fermi bubbles.
Credit: G. Ponti et al.
The supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy is a bit like the hearth at the center of a cozy pub. It's a bright, warm gathering place around which all the quotidian life of the Milky Way swirls — and, according to a new study published today (Mar. 20) in the journal Nature, it might even have a chimney or two.
In a recent study of the X-ray emissions seething out of the Milky Way's galactic center, researchers noticed two unusual structures that have never been described before. Twin columns of superhot, X-ray-emitting plasma appeared to be billowing out of the galactic center, one rising north and the other flowing south, for hundreds of light-years in either direction.
"We call these the chimneys," lead study author Gabriele Ponti, a researcher at the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) in Italy, told Live Science. "Looking at them, we see clear evidence for a strong outflow of plasma from the galactic center." [The 12 Strangest Objects in the Universe]
X-ray marks the spot
Ponti and his colleagues found this evidence by analyzing more than 750 hours of X-ray observations taken by the XMM-Newton and Chandra telescopes. These observations helped the team create an X-ray map of the center of the Milky Way (shown above), including the near-symmetrical chimney plumes emanating from either side of Sagittarius A*, the bright fount of radio waves believed to shroud our galaxy's supermassive black hole.
More:
https://www.livescience.com/65037-galactic-center-chimneys-fuel-space-bubbles.html?utm_source=notification