Science / Medicine : Hint at How Milky Way Began

A series of explosions deep inside a nearby galaxy 1 million years ago gave it an unusual shape that scientists say could help explain how our own Milky Way galaxy developed 10 billion years ago. The explosive flare-ups, considered a relatively recent event in astronomical terms, left the galaxy with a spectacular “double bubble” configuration that makes the neighboring M82 galaxy a cosmic spectacle, according to new studies.

In addition, new spectrometric investigations substantiate the theory of “low-velocity” galactic winds moving through M82 at supersonic speed, or several hundred miles per second, affecting the galaxy’s form.

Joss Bland and R. Brent Tully of the Institute for Astronomy in Honolulu report in the current issue of the British journal Nature that multiple explosions occurred in the heart of the galaxy, causing an unusual movement of gas toward the galactic poles. It is that movement that creates the appearance of a “double bubble.”