Humongous, gassy halo found surrounding Milky Way

I had that thought as well. Could this "sphere" have anything to do with the black hole inside our galaxy?

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


Personally, and I am by no means an expert. I think it might not so much as serve a purpose as be an effect of the formation of the galaxy. It may have something to do with excess matter being flung out of the Milky-way as it spins, also from supernovae. I don't think all that matter is going to be captured by star systems.
But I don't know if that would explain for the heat to be as great as it is.

It could also be an effect of our galaxies gravitational pull.

I cannot find a clip, but this is the first thing that came to mind.

In an episode of South Park, an alien comes to Earth pretending to be a space bank robber. Long story summed up, it was a test of trustworthiness by the Intergalactic Federation of Planets or something or other.

Needless to say, the good 'ole citizens of South Park failed the test. Their punishment? To be permanently 'jailed' on Earth, and prevented from traveling through space and meeting the other races.

I am kidding, but what if we did something to piss off our Galactic neighbors, and this is their idea of erecting a giant fence around us?

reply to post by Daemonicon


Vert apt episode, certainly fits the bill! LoL

reply to post by LiberalSceptic


That is also a good thought.

I recently read an article in a magazine, that was explaining how black holes go through periods of dormancy and activity. And when they are actively consuming matter whatever doesn't get sucked in gets shot out in massive super hot jets.

Once this superheated matter reaches a certain distance from the black hole. The gravity of the galaxy might disperse that matter into a relatively uniform gas cloud.

I'm just speculating here. I am probably completely missing something.

Originally posted by watchitburn
reply to post by Arbitrageur

 

Can you explain that in a way that stupid people can understand it. Or provide a link to an explanation.

Because right now, my brain doesn't want anything to do with what you just posted.

I thought I did. A million degree atom hits your wrist. Another one hits your ankle. Those two atoms that hit your wrist and ankle don't keep the rest of you warm.

Here's the NASA link describing how you would freeze even at the hot temperatures in space, because there aren't enough of those hot atoms around to keep you warm. They also point out the temperature doesn't matter much to a human, at such low density:

Temperature in Space

The temperature of outer space varies, but the value does not matter much because the amount of matter sustaining it (and therefore, of energy involved) is tiny. See preceding question here, or www.phy6.org...

The moment a massive body (like your own) touches the rarefied gas of outer space, it and not the gas will determine the heat flow around it.

"If a astronaut were to step out of the space station wearing nothing but a t-shirt and jeans," I suspect he would first choke (all the air will escape his/her lungs) and then after a while he/she would end up freeze-dried, as all water would also evaporate from the body. Museums sometimes freeze-dry the carcasses of small mammals by suspending them in a vacuum chamber.

Needless to say, I don't encourage the experiment.

reply to post by watchitburn


All good thoughts and ideas usually starts with some random fun speculating
2nd

reply to post by watchitburn

Interesting. Not sure how the extra mass in the halo might change theory. I do know that there's missing mass and that this has been assigned explanations like dark matter/energy.

See here:
www.spacedaily.com - Mysterious 'dark matter' even weirder: astronomers...

........
"The amount of mass that we derive matches very well with what we see -- stars, dust and gas -- in the region around the Sun," team leader Christian Moni Bidin of Chile's University of Concepcion said in a press release.

"But this leaves no room for the extra material -- dark matter -- that we were expecting. Our calculations show that it should have shown up very clearly in our measurements. But it was just not there!"

He added: "Despite the new results, the Milky Way certainly rotates much faster than the visible matter alone can account for.

"So, if dark matter is not present where we expected it, a new solution for the missing mass problem must be found. Our results contradict the currently accepted models. The mystery of dark matter has just become even more mysterious."
..........

As for the high temperatures, it makes me think of how the plasma engine that's being developed by Ad Astra Rocket Company uses a magnetic field to confine and route super hot plasma's that's millions of degrees. Obviously, I don't think there's a material that could successfully confine that? So anyway, my guess is that spaceships will have a large field around them that deflects things, protecting the ship and its crew. Of course, a field that big would be expensive to produce?

reply to post by Arbitrageur


Thank you.

That makes perfect sense now.
My brain got caught in a bottle for a minute there.

reply to post by watchitburn


my areas of study touch on this subject,
so i will try to show you what we know (or think atm)

using quasars as a "candle" we have been able to measure the density and composition of other galaxies "halo" or "bubble"


what we have discovered is that "some" galaxies have a "bubble" or halo



this halo can effect the light travelling "through" the galaxy being studied

this can lead to some very interesting light effects



these "bubbles" or halos are able to distort light in an "optical sense"



and the combined gravitational effects (Einstein) of gravity and optical density of the shape of the galaxy
combine to create a "lens"


sometimes magnifying the "image" inside the "bubble"



imagine the sun has a "bubble" around it called the helo sphere



and the temperature inside the "bubble" is cooler than outside the "bubble",
now imagine that the galaxy that sun is in is also "inside" a "bubble" created by the galaxy,
and the temperature inside the galaxy "bubble" is cooler than outside the galaxy "bubble"

the sun leaks heat outside of its bubble, into the galaxy
the galaxy leaks heat from inside the galaxy into intergalactic space,
the further out you get from the sources of heat the less gas "sticks" together and becomes more difuse,
still at the same temperature, but as the gas "thins" out there is less ability to thermally disperse the heat energy

although "hot" this gas does not have enough "overall" energy to cook stuff



hope this helps

xploder

reply to post by watchitburn

An interesting quote from the linked article in the OP:

.......
But even with an estimated mass anywhere between 10 billion and 60 billion Suns, the density of the halo at that scale is still so low that any similar structure around other galaxies would escape detection. Still, the presence of such a large halo of hot gas, if confirmed, could reveal where the missing baryonic matter in our galaxy has been hiding — and possibly hint at the true nature of dark matter throughout the Universe.
........

What this implies is that if other galaxies have something like this, it's not currently detectable.

That's how it might explain, to some extent, the missing mass problem. Because if it WERE easily detectable, we would already know about it and still have the missing mass problem.

Originally posted by jonnywhite
reply to post by watchitburn

 

An interesting quote from the linked article in the OP:

.......
But even with an estimated mass anywhere between 10 billion and 60 billion Suns, the density of the halo at that scale is still so low that any similar structure around other galaxies would escape detection. Still, the presence of such a large halo of hot gas, if confirmed, could reveal where the missing baryonic matter in our galaxy has been hiding — and possibly hint at the true nature of dark matter throughout the Universe.
........

What this implies is that if other galaxies have something like this, it's not currently detectable.

That's how it might explain, to some extent, the missing mass problem.

i can show you what the others studies are pointing to

phys.org...

under the right angles and conditions we can "see" the effects of this diffuse cloud
www.nature.com...

if you want to get the specifics for the "connections" between paired galaxies
hera.ph1.uni-koeln.de...

physorg (easy to understand)
phys.org...

whats interesting is that these "gasses" can act like a cosmic magnifying glass
and interfere with mass distance calculations, which also cause distortions to the amount of dark matter required to explain "what" we are seeing



hope that helps

xploder

reply to post by XPLodER


Awesome.

Thanks for sharing that.
There is always someone on this site knowledgeable in any subject matter brought up.

Do you have a theory on what is causing the halo in the article? Any speculation will be welcomed.

Originally posted by watchitburn
reply to post by XPLodER

 

Awesome.

Thanks for sharing that.
There is always someone on this site knowledgeable in any subject matter brought up.

Do you have a theory on what is causing the halo in the article? Any speculation will be welcomed.

while the saying goes "nothing can escape the event horizon of a black hole"
there is something that might,
its called hawking radiation (after the physicist steven hawking)

and in some galaxies we can see what is described as "lobes" and jets coming from the centeral reigion of black holes in galaxies know as AGNs or active galaxy nucluses.

NOTE while there is no direct evidence to support it,
some speculate that intence magnetic fields "allow" the escaping of gasses from "near" the event horizon under certain conditions.

the question you have asked is a good one and i can only say im sure steven hawking is working on it atm


my personal "beleifs" would only serve to confuse you at this point in time

xploder

reply to post by XPLodER


Awe, Come on.

I am aware that this is still being investigated, and any theories given are just that. But you are obviously more familiar with the subject matter than most or all of us in this thread.

Refusing to share your ideas is just impolite.

How fast is the galaxy moving through/with space? would this massive galaxy moving through space cause this gas cloud... coupled with the energy, dust, "debris" slung from every star in the galaxy and the black hole into the surrounding space?

Xploder, I know this is one of your areas of expertise, could you how explain how you think this links to your bubbles / lens theory? Is it possible that this huge halo is impacting on our view of the wider universe? Or is it too diffuse? I was thinking that surely a structure this big could affect our measurements and calculations of distances and expansion of the universe? What are your thoughts on this? Could the halo distort our viewpoint, and therefore calculations? What if the halo was expanding or contracting, would that make a difference? Or is it completely irrelevant to our current theories? particularly regarding the expansion of the universe, redshift etc.

reply to post by theDarthvader


I think our current methods for measuring distance already compensate for distortion caused by this cloud. Since we have been observing the universe through it the whole time. Albeit unknowingly. We know how fast light travels, and we know how to measure brightness. These things are reproducible and testable here on earth.

I'm pretty sure that is accurate. Some one will correct me if I am wrong.

Well, here's my speculation, for what it's worth.

The Earth has a Magnetosphere.

The Solar System has a Helisphere.

Why not a "GalaxioSphere" ?

Why/How did it materialize? Energy emanating from the many stars within the Milky Way galaxy spread outward in all directions, but just as all bodies are held together in a rotational dance, so are their energies. Even though these energies are flung outwards, still they are caught up in the rotation of the galaxy. This cloud is the energy from within the galaxy.

Please understand, I just said what my mind envisioned. Poke holes in it, or jump on board... it's all good as long as we get to think freely.

Originally posted by theDarthvader
Xploder, I know this is one of your areas of expertise, could you how explain how you think this links to your bubbles / lens theory? Is it possible that this huge halo is impacting on our view of the wider universe? Or is it too diffuse? I was thinking that surely a structure this big could affect our measurements and calculations of distances and expansion of the universe? What are your thoughts on this? Could the halo distort our viewpoint, and therefore calculations? What if the halo was expanding or contracting, would that make a difference? Or is it completely irrelevant to our current theories? particularly regarding the expansion of the universe, redshift etc.

in the following picture is a galaxy cluster with galaxies in it


what is happening (imho) is that diffuse gas "between" the individual galaxies is acting like a lens,
each galaxy is acting like a lens,
and the gravity of the cumulative mass of all the galaxies is attracting and concentrating gas.

example,
if you had an empty glass you could see through it with little distortion,
fill the glass with water,
now light goes through the glass, through the water and an image on the other side would be magnifyed but distorted,
now add a small magnifying glass to the water,
the water effects the power of magnifying glass when looking at the image in the background.
this is all achieved with optical lensing.
the water is the difuse gas surrounding the galaxy in this example.

at larger scales you have to add gravity distortion into the equation.
so as you can see from the example the gas cloud could have an effect of what we image with telescopes,
just like the water in the glass.

please note the refractive index of water is high, (large effect over short distance)
the refractive index of diffuse gas is very low, (small effect if imaging over large distances)

we know there is missing mass from the images and there distortions over large distances,
dark matter was a "place holder" for the amount of distortion because we couldnt see what was distorting the images.

the galaxy "bubble" the "shape" of the galaxy inside of the bubble and its gravitational mass all contribute to warp what we see. if we add diffuse gas that has a different refractive index material to "all" those equations
it is very possible that this cloud would distort our view of the universe (only outside our galaxy)

example
if our galaxy was a optical/gravitational lens,
and we are inside it,
everything would be out of scale and distances would be deceiving.

objects would not be were they looked to be



xploder