Astronomers give explanation for fracture in Milky Way’s cosmic ‘bone’

By Dean Murray

Astronomers have discovered a likely explanation for a fracture in a huge cosmic "bone" in the Milky Way.

Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio telescopes, researchers believe a fast-moving, rapidly spinning neutron star, or a pulsar, struck the eerie entity at a speed between one million and two million miles per hour.

The bone-like structure is a radio filament - typically found near the center of the Milky Way - that emits radio waves and is thought to be made of high-energy particles.

Neutron stars are the densest known stars and form from the collapse and explosion of massive stars. They often receive a powerful kick from these explosions, sending them away from the explosion’s location at high speeds.

NASA explains: "Enormous structures resembling bones or snakes are found near the center of the galaxy. These elongated formations are seen in radio waves and are threaded by magnetic fields running parallel to them. The radio waves are caused by energized particles spiraling along the magnetic fields."

A new image shows one of these cosmic "bones", called G359.13142-0.20005 (G359.13 for short), with X-ray data from Chandra and radio data from the MeerKAT radio array in South Africa.

NASA says: "Examining this image closely reveals the presence of a break, or fracture, in the otherwise continuous length of G359.13 seen in the image. The combined X-ray and radio data provide clues to the cause of this fracture."

At about 230 light-years long, G359.13 is one of the longest and brightest of these structures in the Milky Way and is located about 26,000 light-years from Earth, near the center of the Milky Way.

A paper describing the results appeared in the May 2024 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.