(ORDO NEWS) — Astronomers have compiled the first ever three-dimensional map of the Local Bubble’s magnetic field. This is the name given to an irregularly shaped region of rarefied hot gas in the interstellar medium inside our Galaxy.
The cosmic “superbubble” is huge. Its diameter is 1000 light years. New pictures and videos posted online show what his computer model looks like.
Scientists know that similar cosmic structures form during the death throes of massive stars. They are hollow clumps of diffuse hot plasma surrounded by a shell of cold gas and dust. Such bubbles are involved in the formation of new stars.
Despite some understanding of the formation of “superbubbles”, astronomers still don’t know exactly how they develop as a result of interaction with the Milky Way’s magnetic field. Their role in the formation of stars is also still unknown.
To find out more, a team of astronomers working at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has mapped the Local Bubble’s magnetic field. It is located inside the Orion Arm in our galaxy.
It turned out that the Local bubble was formed as a result of a series of supernova explosions. This happened about 10-20 million years ago.
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