According to the researchers, Sagittarius A* produces "chimneys" of X-ray that extend north and south from the disk of the galaxy. The structures are more appropriately known as Fermi bubbles, massive cavities carved out of the gas cloud surrounding the galaxy. The north and south chimney both start within 160 light years of the black hole, extending outward about 25,000 light years. That's almost the distance from Sagittarius A* to Earth.
The black hole in our galaxy is about 4 million times the size of the sun, but other galaxies have central black holes that are much larger. We can study the Milky Way close up, which could provide insights into how these more energetic galaxies work. Understanding how energy moves through the chimneys and into surrounding space could help explain why some regions become rich in star formation, and others are relatively barren.
Now read:
Tagged In
Black Holes Astronomy Space Science Milky WayMore from Extreme
