Nov 4, 2018 11:26 PM
Big, well-defined, spherical things above and below the center of the galaxy. Each one is about 25,000 light years across.
https://nasa.tumblr.com/post/17969020252...ma-ray-sky
They were never seen before now, because they are only visible in gamma-ray wavelengths. That fact suggests a very energetic process, and their position above and below the galactic center suggests (to me anyway) something to do with the giant black hole in the galactic hub. Maybe a less energetic analogue of the cosmic jets seen shooting out of some other galaxies' centers.
NASA photo:
![[Image: tumblr_inline_ph7y7yLuWy1tzhl5u_1280.jpg]](https://66.media.tumblr.com/d28f344faebb2b8a5f9a40f7fca12d33/tumblr_inline_ph7y7yLuWy1tzhl5u_1280.jpg)
This is a NASA photo of Centaurus A, an active galaxy, with light and x-ray wavelength photos superimposed. The similarity is close enough to suggest a similar source. Our galaxy's lobes are much more symmetrical though.
![[Image: cena_composite.jpg]](https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/Images/objects/heapow/active_galaxies/cena_composite.jpg)
https://nasa.tumblr.com/post/17969020252...ma-ray-sky
They were never seen before now, because they are only visible in gamma-ray wavelengths. That fact suggests a very energetic process, and their position above and below the galactic center suggests (to me anyway) something to do with the giant black hole in the galactic hub. Maybe a less energetic analogue of the cosmic jets seen shooting out of some other galaxies' centers.
NASA photo:
This is a NASA photo of Centaurus A, an active galaxy, with light and x-ray wavelength photos superimposed. The similarity is close enough to suggest a similar source. Our galaxy's lobes are much more symmetrical though.