Huge, unknown cosmic structures have been discovered in the center of our galaxy

with Publishing In The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the research team reports the discovery of hundreds of strange, massive, filament-like cosmic structures at the center of our galaxy. These filaments may trace the violent trajectory of a black hole explosion that occurred billions of years ago.

Each of these previously unknown cosmic filaments is between 5 and 10 light-years across, and the fact that they are visible at certain radio wavelengths indicates that these structures were likely formed by bursts of high-energy particles invisible to the naked eye. Seen together, these hundreds of filaments seem to point toward our galaxy’s central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. According to the researchers, these filaments may be unhealed “wounds” from an ancient, high-energy black hole explosion that tore apart nearby gas clouds.

“It was amazing to suddenly find a new group of structures that seemed to point in the direction of the black hole. We were really surprised when we saw them and discovered that these threads are not random, but seem to be related to the activity of the black hole at the center of our galaxy,” says Ferdah Yousefzadeh, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern University. In the United States, head of the research group.

Sagittarius A* has an estimated mass of about four million times that of the Sun. Its powerful gravity holds our galaxy together, but its monstrous appetite has also led to some serious cases of indigestion resulting in many cosmic phenomena. Previous similar observations of the Sagittarius A* region by the same research team revealed huge bubbles of energy rising 25,000 light-years above each side of the black hole, as well as about a thousand cosmic filaments lying vertically in the black hole. Both of these mysterious phenomena were likely caused by the explosion of Sagittarius A* in the very distant past, the researchers estimate.

Naftemporiki.gr