Mysterious 'Morse Code' in Milky Way's Center

The Milky Way galaxy is a spiral galaxy that is approximately 14 billion years old. It is filled with stars, nebulae (clouds of dust and gas), planets, asteroids, and more. These objects fan out from the center of the galaxy in long spiraling arms. The Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across, and it takes our sun and the solar system 250 million years to make one revolution around the center of the galaxy.

In recent and exciting news, an international team of scientists has made a fascinating discovery in the center of the Milky Way. They have found structures that resemble Morse code. These structures are similar to the giant one-dimensional filaments that were discovered in the 1980s near Sagittarius A, the Galaxy's central supermassive black hole. However, these new filaments are shorter and spread out horizontally or radially.

The scientists did extensive research to confirm that these filaments were not random but rather connected to the outflow of the black hole. This discovery has allowed for the study of the spin of the black hole and the orientation of its accretion disk, which is a rotating disk of matter formed around the black hole due to its immense gravitational force.

There are around 1,000 vertical filaments that appear in pairs and clusters. They are often equally spaced or side by side, resembling strings on a harp. The horizontal filaments, on the other hand, are approximately 6 million years old. Both types of filaments are one-dimensional and can be viewed with radio waves. They seem to be tied to processes happening in the galactic center.

While the vertical filaments are magnetic and contain particles moving at speeds close to the speed of light, the horizontal filaments emit thermal radiation and do not have particles moving at similar speeds. Additionally, there are more vertical filaments, and they are much larger than the horizontally stretching filaments.

This discovery is still filled with unknowns, and astronomers are eager to continue unraveling its mysteries.

In addition to the filaments, there have been other unexpected and bizarre phenomena observed in the Milky Way. Researchers have discovered a spinning object that emits massive bursts of radio energy every 20 minutes. This object is likely to be 4,000 light years away from Earth and has a strong magnetic field. Theories about its origin range from it being an ultra-long period magnetar, a white dwarf, or the remnants of a collapsed star.

Another mystery surrounding the Milky Way is the observation that the center of the galaxy emits much more gamma radiation than its outskirts. Astronomers initially suggested that this intense glow was due to the annihilation of dark matter. However, this theory fell short as the gamma-ray particles were not distributed evenly in space as expected. An alternative explanation proposed is the presence of millisecond pulsars, which are neutron stars that rotate incredibly fast. These pulsars could potentially explain the clumpy nature of the light observed in the galaxy's center.

While some studies support the pulsar theory, there are still scientists who are not convinced and suggest that the clumps of light could be a result of the interaction of gas between stars and cosmic rays. The clustering of so many pulsars around the center of the Milky Way also raises questions about the disruption of star clusters due to the galaxy's gravity.

Overall, the discoveries in the Milky Way's center are fascinating but still hold many unanswered questions. Astronomers will continue their research to uncover more about these mysterious phenomena and their origins.