Stretching countless light-years across the Milky Way, a recently found filament of hydrogen named Maggie is one of the most significant structures ever discovered in our galaxy, and scientists think there might be others like it.A group of astronomers led by scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Astronomy (MPIA) in Germany has actually found something weird on the other side of the Milky Way: an enormous filament of hydrogen gas. Hydrogen is both the simplest and the most abundant element in the universe. But hydrogen clouds like this filament can be difficult to find amidst the interstellar medium (ISM), the matter and radiation that lies in between star systems in a galaxy, the astronomers describe in their research study, which was published in December 2021 in the journal Astronomy & & Astrophysics.”Maggie,” which is comprised practically totally of atomic hydrogen gas, is a whopping 3,900 light-years long by 130 light-years large. (For recommendation, a single light-year has to do with 5.88 trillion miles, or 9.46 trillion kilometers.) “In contrast, the largest known clouds of molecular gas usually extend only about 800 light-years throughout,” according to an MPIA statement.Related: Simple recipe for star formation revealedImage 1 of 2In this picture of the Milky Way, in the box you can see the location of the “Maggie” filament. The various colors reveal different velocities of hydrogen gas. (Image credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO & & T. Müller/ J. Syed/MPIA)Image 2 of 2In this image (with added color) you can see the circulation of atomic hydrogen in the Milky Way. The “Maggie” filament is revealed by the red dotted line. (Image credit: J. Syed/MPIA)In this new study, the team of astronomers utilized information from the HI/OH/Recombination line survey of the Milky Way, also understood as the THOR survey, to examine Maggie and shed light on large clouds of hydrogen like it. The team found Maggie and, with their work, were able to see how far it extends, the velocity of the hydrogen gas making it up and more. The astronomers were even able to identify Maggies range from Earth, which they approximate is about 55,000 light-years. Typically it is really challenging for astronomers to discover big hydrogen groupings like this, since they dont stick out versus the ISM. Maggies unique place helped to make it visible.”The area of this filament has actually contributed to this success … we do not yet understand precisely how it arrived. However the filament extends about 1,600 light-years below the Milky Way plane,” study author Jonas Syed, a PhD trainee at MPIA, stated in the same declaration, which added that this area makes it possible for scientists to see radiation originating from the hydrogen. Comprehending more about Maggie and other structures like it is a major step toward better understanding star formation, as hydrogen is the foundation of stars. There stay extra questions about this big filament, like where it came from, but this discovery could lead to numerous more.”While Maggies origin stays unclear, we assume that Maggie might be the very first in a class of atomic clouds that are the precursors of huge molecular filaments,” the researchers composed in their paper.Email Chelsea Gohd at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Extending thousands of light-years throughout the Milky Way, a newly discovered filament of hydrogen named Maggie is one of the biggest structures ever found in our galaxy, and researchers think there might be others like it.A group of astronomers led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Astronomy (MPIA) in Germany has actually identified something unusual on the other side of the Milky Way: an enormous filament of hydrogen gas.”Maggie,” which is made up practically totally of atomic hydrogen gas, is a tremendous 3,900 light-years long by 130 light-years large. The team found Maggie and, with their work, were able to see how far it stretches, the velocity of the hydrogen gas making it up and more.