Astronomers have discovered the Per-Tau Shell, a giant cavity lurking between the constellations Perseus and Taurus, located in the galaxy that contains Earth.
Map of the Milky Way galaxy showing the location of the cavity – (Photo: ESA/CfA).
According to Science Alert, this is a spherical void located 700 light-years away from us, surrounded by dense clouds of dust and cold gas, where stars are formed.
The research team, led by astrophysicist Shmuel Bialy from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), proposed two hypotheses for the formation of this galactic “hole”.
- One is that a powerful supernova erupted from the core of a bubble-like structure, pushing gas outward with such force that it created a cavity.
- Two is that a series of ancient supernovae occurring over millions of years gradually carved out this region of space.
Per-Tau Shell, formally known as the Perseus-Taurus Supershell, was discovered in the massive data set from Gaia, the ESA (European Space Agency) satellite mapping the universe.
Initially, scientists focused on the dense regions of molecular clouds surrounding it, only to accidentally discover the cavity. It is estimated that it was formed around 6 to 22 million years ago, which is relatively “recent” in cosmic history.
This research has just been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
