Astronomy:G359.1-0.2
 Image of the Galactic Center of the Milky Way galaxy where G359.1-0.2 is located. Here can be seen there are many long threads which are similar in appearance to G359.1-0.2 | |
| Other designations | G359.13142-0.20005, The snake, Galactic Center snake |
|---|---|
Observation data (Epoch J2000) | |
| 14h 44m 19.244s | |
| Declination | -29h 46m 52.96s |
| Distance | 8 kpc |
Notable features | One of the longest radio filaments |
G359.1-0.2 (short for G359.13142-0.20005), or more commonly known as the Galactic Center Snake or more simply known as The Snake, is a radio filament located in the Galactic Center of the Milky Way galaxy. It is one of the brightest radio filaments discovered and is also one of the longest at ~70 pc in length; however, it is thin, being just 0.4 parsecs in width.[1]
It may have formed from a star trail intersecting a shock from a supernova remnant (SN) which preferentially travelled up the trail accelerating electrons producing radiation.[2]
Morphology
The snake is one of the longest radio filaments discovered so far but it is very thin, being about 0.4 parsecs wide. Running along it are two kinks, a major northern kink and a southern minor kink.[1] The major kink is likely produced by a pulsar moving between 1,600,000–3,200,000 km/h (1,000,000–2,000,000 mph) through the filament.[3]
It is linearly polarized over much of the filaments extent. The intrinsic magnetic field is also well aligned.[4]
Environment
Located to the west of The Snake’s both major and minor kinks are two compact radio objects named G359.132-0.200 (a radio pulsar) and G359.120-0.265.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Yusef-Zadeh, F; Zhao, Jun-Hui; Arendt, R; Wardle, M; Heinke, C O; Royster, M; Lang, C; Michail, J (2024-05-01). "G359.13142-0.20005: a steep spectrum radio pulsar candidate with an X-ray counterpart running into the Galactic Centre Snake (G359.1-0.2)". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 530 (1): 254–263. doi:10.1093/mnras/stae549. ISSN 0035-8711. https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/530/1/254/7613950?login=false#446360774.
- ↑ Nicholls, Jennifer; Le Strange, E. T. (April 1995). "A Star Trail Model of the Galactic Center Snake" (in en). The Astrophysical Journal 443: 638. doi:10.1086/175555. ISSN 0004-637X. Bibcode: 1995ApJ...443..638N. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995ApJ...443..638N/abstract.
- ↑ Mata, Daniela (2025-05-05). "A speeding pulsar may have ‘broken’ this cosmic bone" (in en-US). https://www.astronomy.com/science/a-speeding-pulsar-may-have-broken-this-cosmic-bone/.
- ↑ Freismuth, T. M.; Lang, C. C.; Yusef-Zadeh, F.; Goss, W. M. (May 2004). "The Structure of the Galactic Center Snake" (in en). American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #204 204: 59.05. Bibcode: 2004AAS...204.5905F. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004AAS...204.5905F/abstract#:~:text=Goss,%20W.%20M.-,Abstract,entire%20length%20of%20this%20NTF..
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