Massive Gamma Ray Bubbles Discovered In Milky Way

An anonymous reader writes "Two huge, mysterious gamma ray-emitting bubbles have been discovered at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, US astronomers said... The structure spans more than half of the visible sky, from the constellation Virgo to the constellation Grus, and it may be millions of years old."

Comments

Systematic Error

[biryokumaru]

So they used noisy data to try and algorithmically guess what was hidden behind a bunch of "fog" and got a giant bubble, and now their conclusion is "there's a giant bubble!" and not "Maybe we have a systematic error in our analysis..."? To be fair, it's possible there is a giant bubble, I don't know the math here, but it seems... suspect.

Anyway, this article sounds way cooler.

Re:Systematic Error

[clang_jangle]

No, I found another source where they managed to enhance the image of one of them and it really is a bubble.

Re:Systematic Error

[ElectricTurtle]

Obviously the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics needs to hear from you immediately. Clearly you have a super-human insight that surpasses teams of expert astrophysicists. I'll bet their doctorates aren't worth the paper they're printed on. What unmitigated gall, releasing these findings without considering simple limitations of algorithmical analysis. Thank you internet for saving the world once again.

Re:Systematic Error

[ElectricTurtle]

I do do not suggest that degrees are magical things that make one automatically right. I do imply that it's unlikely that some random person from the internet has outmaneuvered a team of experts with decades of combined experience in five minutes on a post on /. Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? No. Is it so absurd as to be to some degree insulting? Yeah, that's the point.

A proposed mechanism for these bubbles exists

[Anonymous Coward]

Dark Taco Bell.

This is also responsible for the increasing expansion of the universe.

Black hole formation?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure I'm missing something, but I thought gamma ray bursts could occur as a result of black hole formation, which I thought was quite prevalent in the center of the galaxy. Wouldn't this be (or why isn't this) the top suspect?

No need to worry yet

[rcharbon]

Let me know when you start to see Puppeteers.

gas giants

[gtall]

Hmmm...massive gas bubbles...and right after the U.S. election. Coincidence?

That's no bubble

[p0p0]

It's a space station.

Re:I don't see it

[Bigjeff5]

Look again.

See the two, red, bubble shaped things? Right in the middle there. Sort of coming off the center in a bubbly sort of way.

Those are the bubbles.

Original Article

[Richard.Tao]

So far I am finding the original article an interesting read. (it's in the original article NYT article)
It states that the bubble may be related to an ejection of the super massive black hole in the past 10 million years or so. You know those other galaxies that have giant lazer beams shooting out of them? Well, ours could have been like that at some point 10 million years ago. Kind makes sense that those SM black holes only occasionally and intermittently shoot stuff off, seems like just emissions like that would be hard to sustain for long periods of time. (and holy mother of Bohr, it was hard to not fall into sexual innuendo there)
Also, as far as it being a data anomaly (which I thought first due to it's symmetry and the fact that we apparently never knew about it), it apparently correlates with "hard-spectrum excess known as the WMAP haze (and) the edges of bubble also line up with features in the ROSAT X-ray maps at 1.5 - 2 KeV."

Re:Mod points

[gstoddart]

"Gamma Ray Bubbles" is actually Sarah Palin's Stripper name.