An Object of Astronomical Proportions Just Started Punching Holes in Our Galaxy And Scientist Don’t Know What It Is

In our galaxy, there is a "dark object" that is causing massive holes.

It is intangible and may not be made of ordinary substance. It might be something that astronomers have never seen before. Despite the fact that we cannot see the massive object, astronomers have lately found its effects despite the fact that they have not seen the object itself.

Ana Bonaca, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, described the enigmatic item as "a thick bullet of something." Bonaca presented proof of the object's existence at an American Physical Society gathering in Denver.

Evidence of the object that is generating holes has been discovered in our galaxy's longest star stream, GD-1.

A stellar stream is a group of stars that circle a galaxy that was once a globular cluster or dwarf galaxy but has since been ripped apart and stretched along its orbit by tidal forces.

Evidence of the object that is generating holes has been discovered in our galaxy's longest star stream, GD-1.

A stellar stream is a group of stars that circle a galaxy that was once a globular cluster or dwarf galaxy but has since been ripped apart and stretched along its orbit by tidal forces.

The top image depicts how the G-1 appears. The bottom image depicts how it should appear. Image credit: Ana Bonaca/GAIA, New Astrophysical Probes of Dark Matter.

According to Bonaca, star streams are generally consistent and should resemble a single line that has been extended by the massive gravity of the galaxy.

This stellar stream may now include one or more gaps, which correspond to the initial globular cluster before its stars began moving in opposite directions.

What is unusual about GD-1 is that it features a second gap with an extremely jagged edge.

This area has been termed GD-1's "spur." Something massive seemed to have blasted into the star stream not long ago.

A comprehensive map of GD-1 is shown in one of Bonaca's presentations, depicting a second gap and spur. Image credit: Ana Bonaca/GAIA, New Astrophysical Probes of Dark Matter.

Whatever struck the stellar stream with such force drew the stars with it.

In other words, as Bonaca described it, the star stream appears to have been "struck" by a "unseen" bullet.

We're not sure what this bullet is.

However, it is quite enormous. It is quite effective. We are unable to perceive it. Did I mention it's huge?

“We can’t map [the impactor] to any luminous object that we have observed,” Bonaca explained to Live Science.

“It’s much more massive than a star… Something like a million times the mass of the sun. So there are just no stars of that mass. So we can rule that out. And if it were a black hole, it would be a supermassive black hole of the kind we find at the centre of our galaxy.”

Several hypotheses exist as to what the strange item may be. One theory suggests that we should blame a secondary supermassive black hole in our galaxy.

Obviously, we have no proof that another black hole exists in our galaxy, so we cannot be certain.

In addition to the hypothesis that GD-1 was affected by a Black Hole, Bonaca thinks that a large mass of dark matter may have collided with the star stream. Bonaca clarified that this does not imply that the object is composed completely of dark matter.

“It could be that it’s a luminous object that went away somewhere, and it’s hiding somewhere in the galaxy,” she added.

We are aware that whatever the thing is, its scale is enormous.

“We know that it’s 10 to 20 parsecs [30 to 65 light-years] across,” Bonaca revealed. “About the size of a globular cluster.”

Reference(s): APS Physics, LiveScience