Galactic Haze seen by Planck and Galactic 'Bubbles' seen by Fermi

Planck_planck12-001b_1024

planck_planck12-001b February 13th, 2012

Credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration (microwave); NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT/Dobler et al./Su et al. (gamma rays)

This all-sky image shows the distribution of the galactic haze seen by ESA's Planck mission at microwave frequencies superimposed over the high-energy sky, as seen by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

The Planck data (shown here in red and yellow) correspond to the haze emission at frequencies of 30 and 44 GHz, extending from and around the galactic center.

The Fermi data (shown here in blue) correspond to observations performed at energies between 10 and 100 gigaelectronvolt and reveal two bubble-shaped, gamma-ray emitting structures extending from the galactic center.

Synchrotron emission, a type of non-thermal radiation generated by charged particles, associated with the galactic haze seen by Planck, exhibits distinctly different characteristics from the synchrotron emission seen elsewhere in the Milky Way. Diffuse synchrotron emission in the galaxy is interpreted as radiation from highly energetic electrons that have been accelerated in shocks created by supernova explosions. Compared to this well-studied emission, the galactic haze has a "harder" spectrum, meaning that its emission does not decline as rapidly with increasing frequency.

Several explanations have been proposed for this unusual behavior, including enhanced supernova rates, galactic winds and even annihilation of dark-matter particles. Thus far, none of them have been confirmed and the issue remains open.

Provider: Planck

Image Source: http://planck.ipac.caltech.edu/image/planck12-001b

Curator: NASA Planck Science Center, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Public Domain

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Milky Way
Subject - Milky Way
Galaxy

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Fermi Gamma-ray 3.8e-08
Green Planck Millimeter 6.8 mm
Red Planck Millimeter 10.0 mm
Spectrum_xray2w
Blue
Green
Red
Planck_planck12-001b_1280
×
ID
planck12-001b
Subject Category
B.5  
Subject Name
Milky Way
Credits
ESA/Planck Collaboration (microwave); NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT/Dobler et al./Su et al. (gamma rays)
Release Date
2012-02-13
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
http://planck.ipac.caltech.edu/image/planck12-001b
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Fermi, Planck, Planck
Instrument
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Red
Band
Gamma-ray, Millimeter, Millimeter
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
0.000000038, 6800000, 10000000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
NASA Planck Science Center
URL
http://planck.ipac.caltech.edu
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
Public Domain
Publisher
Publisher ID
planck
Resource ID
Metadata Date
2018-06-20T23:59:01Z
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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