eROSITA Maps 0.111-keV Local Hot Bubble, Finding Temperature Split and Centaurus Tunnel
Updated
Updated · The Brighter Side of News · Jul 10
eROSITA Maps 0.111-keV Local Hot Bubble, Finding Temperature Split and Centaurus Tunnel
1 articles · Updated · The Brighter Side of News · Jul 10
Summary
About 2,000 sky regions in eROSITA data show the Local Hot Bubble around the solar system is jagged and lopsided, not a smooth sphere, with a median temperature of 0.111 keV.
100.8-eV gas in the north versus 121.8 eV in the south points to a significant temperature split, which researchers say may reflect relatively recent off-center supernova heating or pressure from surrounding interstellar material.
A possible hot-gas tunnel toward Centaurus, along with support for the beta Canis Majoris tunnel, suggests the bubble may connect to neighboring cavities such as Loop I rather than stand alone.
1.5 million kilometers from Earth at the Sun-Earth L2 point, eROSITA observed during solar minimum, helping separate truly local soft X-rays from solar-wind contamination and strengthening the case that the glow is nearby.
The map backs a broader picture of the Milky Way as a network of superbubbles and channels carved by repeated stellar explosions, with the Sun likely entering this local cavity only a few million years ago.