Rogue Pulsar Snaps Galactic Bone in Milky Way’s Spine

A galactic filament that stretches across 230 light-years in the Milky Way has suffered from a strange kink that has distorted its magnetic field, appearing as a fracture in a massive bone. New X-ray images captured by the Chandra Observatory may have finally helped astronomers diagnose its ailment, naming a fast-spinning neutron star as the culprit. The center of the galaxy is marked by enormous, bone-like structures threaded with parallel magnetic fields and swirling, high-energy particles. Located roughly 26,000 light-years from Earth, G359.13—also known as The Snake—is the longest and brightest of these structures. Despite its size, the bone-like structure appears to have been struck by a fast-moving, rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar, causing a break in the otherwise continuous length of G359.13, according to a new paper published in the May 2024 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Using images of the galactic bone captured by NASA’s Chandra X- ... Read full article.