Seeing “Downtown Milky Way” in a New Light - The Cosmic Companion May 30, 2021
Using X-rays to examine the core of the Milky Way, astronomers discover an unknown jet of radiation...
Viewing the lights of “downtown milky way” reveals a previously-unknown source of X-ray radiation near the center of our galaxy.
Cloaked in an enveloping haze of gas and dust, the center of the Milky Way remains an elusive target for astronomers. Hidden near the center of our family of stars, a supermassive black hole sits, pulling gas and dust near the tenebrous void.
However, certain wavelengths of electromagnetic energy are able to penetrate this dusty curtain. Looking at “downtown Milky Way,” Chandra X-ray telescope, the n X-ray thread was seen shining near the center of the Milky Way. This structure (with the charming name of G0.17–0.41) could hint at an unknown mechanism governing energy flow with the galaxy, as well as guiding galactic evolution.
“The galaxy is like an ecosystem. We know the centers of galaxies are where the action is and play an enormous role in their evolution,” explains astronomer Daniel Wang from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Read more: https://thecosmiccompanion.net/seeing-downtown-milky-way-in-a-new-light
Upcoming guests on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion
June 1 (s4/e22): Using computer modeling to peer inside the atmosphere of Saturn with Dr. Sabine Stanley of Johns Hopkins University.
June 8 (s4/e23): Dr. Bruce Betts, Chief Scientist and LightSail Program Manager for The Planetary Society
June 15 (s4/e24):~just added~ Dr. Noah Petro, NASA’s Project Scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), talking about the Moon!
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