CXC: Galactic Bubbles Play Cosmic Pinball with Energetic Particles

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bystander
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CXC: Galactic Bubbles Play Cosmic Pinball with Energetic Particles

Post by bystander » Thu Feb 28, 2019 5:39 pm

NGC 3079: Galactic Bubbles Play Cosmic Pinball with Energetic Particles
NASA | MSFC | SAO | Chandra X-ray Observatory | 2019 Feb 28
We all know bubbles from soapy baths or sodas. These bubbles of everyday experience on Earth are up to a few inches across, and consist of a thin film of liquid enclosing a small volume of air or other gas. In space, however, there are very different bubbles — composed of a lighter gas inside a heavier one — and they can be huge.

The galaxy NGC 3079, located about 67 million light years from Earth, contains two "superbubbles" unlike anything here on our planet. A pair of balloon-like regions stretch out on opposite sides of the center of the galaxy: one is 4,900 light years across and the other is only slightly smaller, with a diameter of about 3,600 light years. For context, one light year is about 6 trillion miles, or 9 trillion kilometers.

The superbubbles in NGC 3079 give off light in the form of X-ray, optical and radio emission, making them detectable by NASA telescopes. In this composite image, X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory are shown in purple and optical data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are shown in orange and blue. A labeled version of the X-ray image shows that the upper superbubble is clearly visible, along with hints of fainter emission from the lower superbubble. ...

Detection of Nonthermal Hard X-Ray Emission from the "Fermi Bubble" in an External Galaxy ~ Jiang-Tao Li et al
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neufer
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Re: CXC: Galactic Bubbles Play Cosmic Pinball with Energetic Particles

Post by neufer » Thu Feb 28, 2019 5:51 pm


The galaxy NGC 3079, located about 67 million light years from Earth, contains two "superbubbles" unlike anything here on our planet.
I might add that those two "superbubbles" are unlike anything here in my house :!:
Art Neuendorffer

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MarkBour
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Re: CXC: Galactic Bubbles Play Cosmic Pinball with Energetic Particles

Post by MarkBour » Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:26 pm

Wonderful! Will we soon determine that having a pair of super bubbles of this nature is the norm for a spiral galaxy? I'd like to see if they can find any on an elliptical ... energy coming off of the galactic nucleus seems like a natural thing to expect. Galactic interactions would almost certainly disrupt them.
Mark Goldfain

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