180 X-Ray and Gamma-Ray of the Milky Way Galaxy

Two high-energy emission spherical bubbles , X-ray and gamma-ray in nature, were detected north and south of the Milky Way Galaxy’s core in 2010 by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. It is estimated that the diameter of each bubble is about 25,000 light years.In 2014, Ray Villard of the Space Telescope Science Institute estimated that the Milky Way Galaxy contains at least 100 billion planets. This would result in each of the Milky Way Galaxy population of 100 billion stars to have an average of one planet per star.

Illustration of the two gigantic X-ray/gamma-ray bubbles of the Milky Way Galaxy. The top bubble contains gamma-ray emissions on the top and x-ray emissions on the bottom. A bracket on the right measures both buttle at 50,000 light years away from the sun.
Public Domain | Image courtesy of NASA.

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Introduction to Astronomy Copyright © by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book