KSC-04-S-00200
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Source: images.nasa.gov
Video source record: https://images.nasa.gov/details-ksc_062304_chandra
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Summary
| Description | There are plenty of mysteries in our galaxy... black holes, white dwarves, and now… hot gas? NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory has located an enormous source of x-ray radiation at the center of the Milky Way, and astronomers believe that source is an extremely hot cloud of interstellar gas. Astronomers aren't sure how the gas cloud was formed, but how the gas has stayed so hot is the biggest mystery. It's 18 million degrees Fahrenheit in parts and over 180 million degrees in others; even so, it should have cooled off eons ago. That means something is constantly heating the gas back up again. One theory is that magnetic turbulence or highly energized particles from supernovae are responsible for the heating. Supernovae are the tremendous explosions that occur when certain types of stars reach the end of their lives. This could be the source of the heating, but it's still just a theory. The galactic mystery has yet to be solved. To learn more about the discovery, surf on over t |
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| Date | 2004-06-24 |
| Source | images.nasa.gov |