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Galactic Center Radio
Arc X-ray/Millimeter
Wavelength Side by Side
Arc X-ray/Millimeter
Wavelength Side by Side
(Credit: X-ray (blue): NASA/CXC/Northwestern/
F.Zadeh et al.; Millimeter Wavelength (green): Nobeyama/M.Tsuboi)
F.Zadeh et al.; Millimeter Wavelength (green): Nobeyama/M.Tsuboi)
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Galactic Center Radio Arc:
X-ray Gas Associated With Galactic Center Radio Arc
Credit: X-ray (blue): NASA/CXC/Northwestern/F.Zadeh et al.; Millimeter Wavelength (green): Nobeyama/M.Tsuboi; Radio (red): NRAO/VLA F.Zadeh et al.
X-ray Gas Associated With Galactic Center Radio Arc
Credit: X-ray (blue): NASA/CXC/Northwestern/F.Zadeh et al.; Millimeter Wavelength (green): Nobeyama/M.Tsuboi; Radio (red): NRAO/VLA F.Zadeh et al.
Chandra observations of a region of the Galactic Center have found an X-ray filament and cloud about 40 light years across (blue). These X-ray features are associated with a huge cloud of cold gas (dark area in inset box) that is adjacent to large filamentary and shell-like structures that are bright sources of radio waves (red).
The X-ray emission is thought to be produced when energetic electrons from the radio filaments collide with the cold gas cloud, which has a mass one million times the mass of the Sun. This process of the bombardment of cold gas clouds with energetic electrons could explain the origin of the mysterious X-ray ridge along the plane of the galaxy that was discovered nearly 30 years ago.
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Revised: February 23, 2009