Galactic Center filament

An MeerKAT image of the Galactic Center showing a number of filaments
Radio image of a number of parallel filaments in the Galactic Center; Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way's central black hole, is located in the bright region in the bottom right[1][2]
Nonthermal radio filaments from the 4'' resolution MeerKAT mosaic; oriented vertically for space; scales given assuming a distance of 8.2 kpc

Galactic Center filaments are large radio-emitting[3] filament-shaped structures found in the Galactic Center of the Milky Way.[4] Their cause is unknown.[4] Both vertical and horizontal filaments exist, running vertically (perpendicular to the galactic plane) and horizontally (parallel to the galactic plane) away from the Galactic Center, respectively.[4][5] Vertical filaments possess strong magnetic fields[6] and emit synchrotron radiation: radiation emitted by particles moved at near-lightspeed through a magnetic field.[4] Although theories have been proposed, the source of these particles is unknown.[4][7] Horizontal filaments appear to emit thermal radiation, accelerating thermal material in a molecular cloud.[3] They have been proposed to be caused by the outflow from Sagitarius A*, the Milky Way's central black hole, impacting vertical filaments and H II regions of ionized gas around hot stars.[4]

While the vertical filaments can reach 150 light years in length, the horizontal filaments are much shorter, usually around 5 to 10 light years long.[5] A few hundred horizontal filaments exist (figure given as of 2023), far fewer than the number of vertical filaments.[5] Vertical filaments were discovered in 1984 by Farhad Yusef-Zadeh, Mark Morris, and Don Chance;[citation needed] horizontal filaments were discovered in 2023 by Yusef-Zadeh, Ian Heywood and collaborators.[4]

Vertical filaments are often found in pairs and clusters, often stacked equally spaced side by side similar to the strings of a harp.[6] As of 2022, it was unknown why they formed in clusters or in a regularly spaced manner.[7]

  1. ^ Cimone, Matthew (2022-02-21). "Imaging the Galaxy's Centre in Unprecedented Detail Reveals More Mysterious Filaments". Universe Today. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  2. ^ Heywood, I.; Rammala, I.; Camilo, F.; Cotton, W. D.; Yusef-Zadeh, F.; Abbott, T. D.; Adam, R. M.; Adams, G.; Aldera, M. A.; Asad, K. M. B.; Bauermeister, E. F.; Bennett, T. G. H.; Bester, H. L.; Bode, W. A.; Botha, D. H. (2022-02-01). "The 1.28 GHz MeerKAT Galactic Center Mosaic". The Astrophysical Journal. 925 (2): 165. arXiv:2201.10541. Bibcode:2022ApJ...925..165H. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac449a. ISSN 0004-637X.
  3. ^ a b "Mysterious dashes revealed in Milky Way's center". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Bartels, Meghan. "Strange Giant Filaments Reveal a Mystery at the Milky Way's Heart". Scientific American. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  5. ^ a b c "Hundreds of Strange Filaments Surround the Galactic Center". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  6. ^ a b Choi, Charles Q. (2022-02-01). "New Milky Way mosaic reveals nearly 1,000 strange 'filaments' at the heart of our galaxy". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  7. ^ a b Specktor, Brandon (2022-01-29). "Astronomers discover 1,000 strange 'filaments' of radio energy bursting from the galaxy's center". LiveScience. Retrieved 2024-09-07.