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Updated May 30th, 2021 at 11:57 IST

NASA releases 'magnificent' image showing Milky Way's energised 'downtown'

NASA released an image of our galaxy’s violent, super-energised “downtown” which was made using data from Chandra X-ray Observatory and MeerKAT radio telescope

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
Nasa
IMAGE: NASA/TWITTER | Image:self
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NASA recently released a mesmerising image of our galaxy’s violent, super-energised “downtown” which was made using data from Chandra X-ray Observatory and the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. According to NASA’s blog, the picture is a composite of 370 observations over the past two decades. It depicts billions of stars and countless black holes in the centre, or heart, of the Milky Way. 

In an email to the Associated Press, astronomer Daniel Wang of the University of Massachusetts Amherst said, “What we see in the picture is a violent or energetic ecosystem in our galaxy’s downtown. There are a lot of supernova remnants, black holes, and neutron stars there. Each X-ray dot or feature represents an energetic source, most of which are in the center”. 

Wang further said that he spent a year working on the picture while stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic. He added that the busy, high-energetic galactic centre of the Milky Way is 26,000 light-years away from Earth. Further, his work appears in the June issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 

As per the blog, the picture shows that magnetic threads tend to occur at the outer boundaries of the large plumes of hot gas. This suggests that the gas in the plumes is driving magnetic fields that collide to create the threads. “Threads of superheated gas and magnetic fields are weaving a tapestry of energy at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy,” NASA said. 

'Magnificient'

Meanwhile, on social media, the image has garnered thousands of likes and comments. While some users called the picture “gorgeous”, others called it “magnificent”. “That is just stunning...and to think it is just a tiny tip of the ice burg out there,” said third. “(Gasp)... isn't this magnificent,” said fourth. 

(Image: Twitter)
 

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Published May 30th, 2021 at 11:57 IST

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