Huge "bubble-like structures" have been spotted in the middle of our Milky Way galaxy, scientists say.
The pair of enormous bubbles – spanning hundreds of light years – emit radio signals and are some of the greatest features ever found in the center of our galaxy.
They are so huge that they dwarf all other radio structures around the middle of our galactic quarter. [1
"The center of our galaxy is relatively quiet compared to other galaxies with very active central black holes," said Ian Haywood of Oxford University, who is the lead author of an article in the journal Nature describing the discovery.
"However, the central black hole of the Milky Way may – from time to time – become uncharacteristically active, igniting as it periodically absorbs massive clumps of dust and gas. an unprecedented function. "
The huge structure was spotted by the South African Observatory for Radio Astronomy (SARAO) MeerKAT, which Professor Haywood and his team used to map the regions found in the midst of our galaxy. They did this by looking for radio emissions with very specific wavelengths – they can be used to find particularly energetic regions in space, looking through dense clouds that block us from being able to see the midst of the galaxy by looking for light.
Related slideshows: spectacular images from space (photo services provided)
Using these techniques to examine the huge bubbles – examining their size and shape, and finding that they look almost identical – the researchers were able to find evidence that they suggested that they were formed during an intense eruption. This seems to have happened for a short period of time, but it is so extreme that it breaks through the matter of space.
"The shape and symmetry of what we observe strongly suggest that a staggeringly powerful event happened a few million years ago very close to the central black hole of our galaxy," said William Cotton, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlotte , Virginia, and co-author of the paper.
"This eruption was probably caused by huge amounts of interstellar gas falling into the black hole or a massive burst of star formation that sent shock waves projecting through the galactic ic center. In fact, it inflates bubbles in the hot, ionized gas near the galactic center, energizing it and generating radio waves that we could possibly find here on Earth. "
The space around the black hole of our galaxy is much different than anywhere else in the Milky Way, far more turbulent and active than any other part of ga laxy. It is also largely mysterious because it can be so hard to see – there are huge, long and narrow strands that have not been noticed elsewhere and that researchers still do not understand.
New structures could help illuminate these strands. were formed by the same mysterious energy event.
"Radio bubble the troops found by MeerKAT now shed light on the origin of the filaments, "says Farhad Yousef-Zade of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and co-author of the paper." Almost all of the more than one hundred filaments are restricted by radio beams. "
Until now, it was not possible to see the structures because they were behind the glare of bright signals coming from the middle of the galaxy, and scientists were able to use new techniques to look at these dazzling emissions and see new, towering entities.
"These huge bubbles have so far been hidden by the glare of extremely bright radio emission from the center of the galaxy," said Fernando Camillo of SARAO in Cape Town and co-author of the paper.
"The extraction of bubbles from background noise was a technical tour of force, made possible only by the unique features and perfect location of MeerKAT. With this unexpected discovery, "we are witnessing in the Milky Way a new manifestation of galactic outbursts of matter and energy, ultimately driven by the central black hole."
The new study was published today in Nature and written by authors by 15 different institutions, This is the first document to thoroughly examine the full array of MeerKAT since it was launched last year.