(ORDO NEWS) — Before you is a very unusual nebula “DNA” (“Double Helix”), stretching for about 80 light years.
It lies near the center of the Milky Way, about 300 light-years from the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, which in turn is 26,600 light-years from the solar system.
“We have two intertwining “threads” wrapped around each other, like in a DNA molecule,” describes the mysterious nebula Mark Morris, professor of astrophysics at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
“No one has ever seen anything like it in the universe.”
According to Morris’s research, the magnetic field lines of the galactic center are responsible for the atypical shape of the nebula, which shows a high degree of order.
“The magnetic field of the central region of the Milky Way is about 1000 times stronger than in the “suburb” of the Galaxy, where we live,” Morris added.
The infrared image attached to the post was taken by NASA‘s Spitzer Space Telescope (MIPS) Multi-Stripe Photometer on March 15, 2005.
The bright spots are infrared-luminous stars, mostly red giants and red supergiants (very ancient stars).
It is noteworthy that there are other stars near the Double Helix, but they are too faint to be seen even in this sensitive infrared image.
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