Outer space defies a lot of what seems like common sense based on how we humans experience the universe from the surface of our planet. Things like “gas” take on an entirely different meaning when their motions are dominated by gravity instead of thermodynamics. Gas can form structures, and, according to new research led by Jonas Syed, those structures include a filament that stretches 3,900 light-years across the disk of our Milky Way.

Made of atomic hydrogen, this material contains clumps or clouds where molecular hydrogen can form and collapse into clouds that may one day be able to fragment into stars. This structure was named “Maggie” by co-author Juan Soler who named it after the longest river in his home country of Colombia. 

This structure stands out in images of hydrogen gas, and measurements show the velocity of the gas is constant across the strand. This is a reminder that our galaxy is still young and active and had the fuel to continue to evolve new generations of stars and planets and… well, the rest of that sentence I leave to the science fiction authors to write.

More Information

MPIA press release

“The “Maggie” filament: Physical properties of a giant atomic cloud,” J. Syed et al., 2021 December 20, Astronomy & Astrophysics