Fermi Bubbles Image Credit: NASA
Almost 13 years following their discovery, the origin of these two huge bodies remained uncertain, there was no logical way to explain their origin and the role they played in our galaxy. Because they were discovered by the great Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope, they have received the name “Fermi Bubbles”, a name to which they do great honor, since it seems that our galaxy was playing with stellar material (gas and cosmic dust) and released these clusters in the form of two giant bubbles.
Fermi bubbles
Schematic representation of the Fermi Bubbles. Image Credits: NASA Goddard
These gigantic globules are located in the center of our galaxy (as seen in the image above), it can be seen that they extend above and below the plane of our galaxy, spanning a length of more than 25,000 light years . Although their source is still not entirely clear, it is known with great certainty that they emit radiation of the highest energy, that is, gamma rays.
According to a recent statement from the supermassive particle detector called “IceCube Neutrino Observatory”, located in Antarctica, 10 super high-energy super neutrinos whose origin comes from the giant Fermi bubbles were detected, making these objects on an even more mysterious subject.
When high-energy particles that contain cosmic rays interact with gas and dust, they produce gamma rays that shine brightly within our galaxy. Fermi bubbles emit gamma rays of higher energy than the rest of the body of the galaxy.
Origin of the gigantic bubbles
Fermi bubbles are believed to be closely related to the release of massive amounts of energy by the supermassive black hole (called Sagittarius A) located at the center of our galaxy. Well, it is known that, in other galaxies, black holes that absorb enormous amounts of matter expel high-energy jets.
This hypothesis is supported by the spatial orientation of the Fermi Bubbles, which extend perfectly above and below the plane at the galactic center.
Added to this primary hypothesis, two possible origins of the energy that make up these bubbles are suggested:
It is possible that several million years ago Sagittarius A absorbed an immense amount of matter, which heated up and due to the interaction of great physical forces (electrical and magnetic), part of that matter managed to escape the event horizon, in particle format. of high energy that they dispersed and diluted, but they conserved their energetic state until the present time.
The second hypothesis indicates that it is also likely that a gigantic star got too close to Sagittarius A and violently fragmented, releasing high-energy gravitational particles in a single act, leading to the formation of these bubbles.
These are some of the possible explanations for this incredible phenomenon.
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