According to a new image from a telescope, there are nearly 1,000 mysterious magnetic filaments at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. These pairs and clusters of filaments extend nearly 150 light-years and are evenly spaced apart.
These strange structures are millions of years old and come in various forms. Some filaments resemble harp strings, waterfalls, or even rings around Saturn.
However, astronomers have yet to grasp the true nature and origin of these filaments, according to CNN.
The image shows these magnetic filaments existing at the center of the Milky Way in the form of vertical strands – (Photo: OXFORD UNIVERSITY)
Farhad Yusef-Zadeh, a professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern University in the U.S., first discovered these filaments 35 years ago through radio waves. He determined that they are created from cosmic ray electrons moving through the magnetic field at speeds close to the speed of light.
Now, thanks to the MeerKAT telescope from the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, astronomers have found ten times more filaments than Yusef-Zadeh’s previous discovery.
Over three years, using 20 different observational systems while looking toward the Milky Way, located 25,000 light-years from Earth, astronomers have pieced together details to form a new astronomical picture with these filaments.
“We have studied each filament for a long time. Finally, there is a panoramic view with countless filaments… It looks like a piece of modern art. These images are incredibly beautiful and rich. The mystery of these filaments makes it even more interesting,” Yusef-Zadeh said.
Astronomers believe these filaments are more likely related to activities caused by the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way in the past rather than star explosions.
The research team also identified stronger magnetic fields along the filaments.
As the team works to determine each filament, they are still trying to figure out why there are equal distances between the clusters of filaments. It is possible that these filaments are connected to a giant balloon-like structure at the center of the galaxy, according to previous findings by Yusef-Zadeh and his team in 2019.
He stated: “We hope to get to the bottom of this issue. However, a full understanding of these complex objects takes time.”
