NASA Uncovers New Feature Of Milky Way That Resembles Candy Cane

Just days before Christmas, researchers from NASA were able to spot a new feature of the Milky Way galaxy that closely resembles a candy cane. It was spotted using an instrument designed and built by the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

NASA’s researchers were able to discover the stellar object using the Goddard-IRAM Superconducting 2-Millimeter Observer (GISMO). The instrument was used together with a 30-meter radio telescope in Spain, which was operated by France’s Institute for Radio Astronomer in the Millimeter Range.

According to Johannes Staguhn, the leader of the GISMO team at the Goddard Space Flight Center, capabilities of the instrument allows researchers to observe microwaves at specific wavelengths.

“GISMO observes microwaves with a wavelength of 2 millimeters, allowing us to explore the galaxy in the transition zone between infrared light and longer radio wavelengths,” Staguhn said in a statement. “Each of these portions of the spectrum is dominated by different types of emission, and GISMO shows us how they link together.”

Through GISMO, the researchers were able to detect a new feature of the Milky Way galaxy, which is composed of thin and long strands of ionized gas known as filaments that emit radio waves.

With the help of the instrument, the researchers were able to detect the most prominent radio filament known as a Radio Arc at the center of the galaxy. The researchers noted that this forms the straight or vertical portion of the cosmic candy cane.

“It was a real surprise to see the Radio Arc in the GISMO data,” researcher Richard Arendt explained. “Its emission comes from high-speed electrons spiraling in a magnetic field, a process called synchrotron emission. Another feature GISMO sees, called the Sickle, is associated with star formation and may be the source of these high-speed electrons.”

According to the researcher, the candy cane composed of radio filaments is about 190 light-years long and is located at the center of Milky Way. This region is home to the biggest and densest molecular clouds in the galaxy. They contain enough cosmic materials to create millions of stars that are as big as the Sun.