Scientists have Really “Scientificky” Names for Everything Including “Space Bubbles”

Describing the Gas that Surrounds Galaxies as Space Bubbles

A group of scientists at The Ohio State University have made a groundbreaking discovery in the world of science – they’ve found giant bubbles of high-energy gas that extend far above and below the Milky Way galaxy’s center! And what’s even cooler? These structures are named “eRosita bubbles” after being found by the eRosita X-ray telescope.

But wait, it gets even more exciting! These eRosita bubbles are larger and more energetic than their counterparts, Fermi bubbles. And, they’re part of a bigger group of structures known as the “galactic bubbles” (which sounds like a rock band name).

The Circumgalactic Medium

The team of scientists behind this discovery, led by Anjali Gupta, wanted to learn more about the circumgalactic medium, which is a fancy way of saying the gas that surrounds galaxies. They were surprised to find out that the temperature of the bubble region and the area outside of it were the same. It turns out these bubbles are so bright because they’re filled with extremely dense gas, not because they’re hotter than their surroundings.

To make this discovery, the team analyzed 230 archival observations made between 2005 and 2014 using the Suzaku satellite. And guess what they found? Their results strongly suggest that galactic bubbles were originally formed by nuclear star-forming activity, not through the activities of a supermassive black hole.

But wait, there’s more! The team hopes to use new data from other upcoming space missions to continue characterizing the properties of these bubbles, as well as work on novel ways to analyze the data they already have. It seems like scientists really do have the coolest scientific names for everything – even space bubbles!