Astronomers used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio telescope to discover explanations of fractures in the huge cosmic "bone" in the Milky Way.

The bones appear to be hit with fast-moving, fast-rotating neutron stars or pulsars. Neutron stars are the densest stars and are also forms of collapse and explosion of a large number of stars. They often get powerful kicks from these blasts, keeping them away from the blast at high speed.

Huge structures resembling skeletons or snakes were found near the center of the Milky Way. These elongated formations are seen in radio waves and are threaded by magnetic fields parallel to them. Radio waves are caused by electric particles spiraling along a magnetic field.

The new image shows one of these cosmic "bones", called G359.13142-0.20005 (G359.13 for short), which includes X-ray data from Chandra (color blue) and radio data from Meerkat Radio arrays (color gray). The researchers also called G359.13 a snake.

A careful examination of the image carefully reveals the presence of breakage or breakage in the continuous length of G359.13 seen in the image. Combined X-ray and radio data provide clues to the cause of this fracture.

Now, astronomers have used very large arrays of Chandra and Meerkat and the National Science Foundation to discover X-rays and radio sources at the location of the fracture. Possible pulsars responsible for these radio and X-ray signals are marked. Possible additional sources of X-rays located near Pulsar may come from electrons and positrons that have accelerated to high energy (anti-peer with electrons).

Researchers believe that Pulsar may hit the G359.13 at a rate of 1 million to 2 million miles per hour. This collision distorts the magnetic field in the bones, causing the radio signal to be distorted.

For about 230 light years, G359.13 is one of the longest and brightest structures in the Milky Way. To put it in the background, there are more than 800 stars within a distance from the Earth. G359.13 is located approximately 26,000 light-years from the Earth near the center of the Milky Way.

A paper describing these results appears in the Royal Astronomical Society monthly notice in May 2024 and is obtained here. The authors of the study are Farhad Yusuf-Zadeh (Northwestern University), Jun-hui Zhao (Centre for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonians), Rick Arendt (Maryland, Maryland, Baltimore County), Mark Wardle (Iowa), and Joseph Michail (Northwest).

The Chandra program is managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Chandra X-ray Center of the Smithsonian Observatory controls scientific operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Read more from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.

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This version has two composite images of long, thin cosmic structures. With the vertical orientation of the structure, seemingly fragile sizes and light gray spaces, these images resemble medical X-rays of long, thin bones. The main image shows the overall structure. The illustration image is an annotated close-up that highlights the obvious breaks in the bone-like structure.

This structure is called G359.13 or "snake", which is the central silk of the Galaxy. These filaments are formed by parallel magnetic fields and spiral energized particles threads. These particles cause radio waves that can be detected by the radio array, in this case, the Meerkat array in South Africa.

In the first composite image, a large extent of straight wire extends from the top of the vertical frame to the bottom. At each end of the gray silk is a hazy gray cloud. The only color in the image is neon blue, and the black around the structure is found in several spots. Blue represents the X-rays seen by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.

In the annotated close-up, such spots appear to be interacting with the structure itself. This is a fast moving, fast-rotating neutron star, also known as a pulsar. Astronomers believe that the pulsar hits the filament in the middle of its length, distorting the magnetic field and radio signals.

In both images, this distortion resembles a small breakout or prick in the bone-like filament.

Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
617-496-7998
mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu

Lane figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov