'Unlike any objects we know': Scientists get their best-ever view of 'space tornadoes' howling at the Milky Way's center

'Unlike any objects we know': Scientists get their best-ever view of 'space tornadoes' howling at the Milky Way's center

Scientists have gotten the best-ever view of 'space tornadoes' howling near the Milky Way's black hole. The cosmic twisters could play an important role in distributing organic molecules throughout the galaxy.

"Space tornadoes" discovered at the center of our galaxy

Deep in the galaxy’s central molecular zone (CMZ), clouds of dust and gas swirl amid energetic shock waves.

There are Space Tornadoes Surrounding the Core of the Milky Way

What happens when you mix clouds of gas and dust, strong outflows, and energetic shock waves at the core of the Milky Way Galaxy? Space tornadoes. At least, that's how researchers using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile to study the galaxy's heart described what they found.

In the center of the Milky Way, a turbulent region characterized by the presence of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, gas and interstellar dust swirl under the influence of intense shock waves. An international team of astronomers has achieved an unprecedented vision of this phenomenon thanks to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter [...]

International researchers still don't know for sure how the mysterious space tornadoes formed.

ALMA Discovers “Space Tornadoes” Around the Milky Way’s Core

Swirling through the Milky Way’s central zone, surrounding the supermassive black hole Sgr A*, dust and gases constantly churn as energetic shock waves ripple. An international scientific team using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has sharpened our view of this action by a factor of 100, discovering a surprising new filamentary structure in this mysterious region of space.  Using ALMA’s high resolution and sensitivity to …