Exploring the Milky Way's Core Jet: A Puzzling Outflow

[TEFLing]

Milky Way core drives wind at 2 million miles per hour -- ScienceDaily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150105182525.htmThe article graphic shows three distinct flows of material...

One moving towards earth
One moving away from earth
And
One with no net motion along the line of sight to earth

Does that mean, that there is a large and columnar vertical jet outflow, up and away from the galactic plane...

Surrounded by a void, evacuated of matter...

Which is behind a shock front, expanding away from the jet?

 

[Borg]

Does that mean, that there is a large and columnar vertical jet outflow, up and away from the galactic plane...

Yes, it's measuring the Relativistic jet produced by the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.

EDIT: The article suggests

two possible origins for the bipolar lobes: a firestorm of star birth at the Milky Way's center or the eruption of its supermassive black hole.

It's more accurate to say that it might be measuring a bubble created by the Relativistic jet. However, I will defer to Dave or another Science Advisor for better wording or corrections.

 

[davenn]

Does that mean, that there is a large and columnar vertical jet outflow, up and away from the galactic plane...

That's not what the diagram is telling youimagine a balloon being held at arms length from you and being inflated
the region facing you is moving towards you and that motion tails off as you look around to the sides
the sides have a relative motion that is perpendicular to the line of sight from earth
and finally the far side of the balloon (from you) is moving away from youI see no indication of the presence of "jets" as seen from some other galaxies eg. M87 or Centaurus A

EDIT---- as I stated and you linked to Borg

just expanding spherical bubbles of material

Dave

 

[TEFLing]

Your description aptly explains Line Broadening.

But, in that case, the curve is smooth and continuous, looking like a Gaussian distribution function. There are no breaks in the distribution.

In this case, for the Milky Way jets, there are three distinct groups of material, with no smooth transition between them.

 

[pmacias]

This is a very interesting discovery and it raises many questions about the dynamics of the Milky Way's core jet. The presence of these distinct flows of material suggests that there is indeed a powerful and columnar vertical jet outflow from the galactic plane. The fact that there is a void surrounding this jet, devoid of matter, is also intriguing and raises questions about the mechanisms that are driving this outflow.

One possible explanation for this phenomenon could be the presence of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. It is well known that black holes can generate powerful jets of material as they consume matter from their surroundings. The shock front expanding away from the jet could be a result of this process, as the high-speed outflow collides with the surrounding material.

However, more research is needed to fully understand the nature and origin of this core jet. It is also worth exploring the possibility of other sources for this outflow, such as star formation activity or interactions with neighboring galaxies. Nonetheless, this discovery provides valuable insights into the complex and dynamic processes at work in the core of our own galaxy.