Thanks to the Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio telescopes, astronomers have found a likely explanation for a crack in a huge cosmic “bone”. It is located at the center of our galaxy.
There are huge structures near the center of the Milky Way that are figuratively compared to bones or even snakes due to their appearance. These elongated formations are visible in radio waves, and magnetic fields stretch parallel to them. Radio waves are caused by charged particles spiraling along magnetic fields.
An image published by NASA shows one such cosmic “bone” called G359.13142-0.20005 (abbreviated G359.13). The blue color corresponds to Chandra X-ray data, the gray color corresponds to data from the MeerKAT radio array in South Africa.
G359.13 is about 26,000 light-years from Earth near the center of the Milky Way. It represents one of the longest and brightest “bones” of our galaxy. Its length is about 230 light-years. For comparison, there are more than 800 stars at this distance from the Sun.
If you examine the image closely, you can see the presence of a tear or crack in G359.13. Until recently, astronomers didn’t know what caused it. But a combination of X-rays and radio data provided a clue. Apparently, the “bone” was destroyed by a fast-moving and rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar. Such objects are formed during supernova outbursts. During birth, they often receive a powerful shock that throws them away from the site of the explosion at high speed.
Using data from Chandra and MeerKAT, as well as the VLT radio telescope, astronomers have found a source of X-ray and radio emission at the rift site whose characteristics match a pulsar. According to them, it caused the crack by crashing into G359.13 at speeds between 450 and 900 km/s. This collision distorted the magnetic field in the “bone,” causing the radio signal to become distorted as well.
According to NASA
