The center of the Milky Way is a place of great beauty and extreme events, in which some astronomers were finally able to create the image. In this incredible new composite photograph, you can see this cosmic phenomenon in action.

Powerful X-rays illuminate the central regions around the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, Sagittarius A *, with magnetic fields extending over hundreds of light-years. This breathtaking image is made up of more than 370 observations made by NASA’s Chandra X-ray telescope, including ray observations from the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa, which has been superimposed on X-ray data.

The combined image provides an incredible and important view of the center of the galaxy and how occasional explosions between supernovae and Sagittarius A * can occur. The results of this work are published in the monthly circular of the Royal Astronomical Society. Author Q Daniel Wang, a professor in the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s astronomy department, whose findings are a result of more than two decades of research, said in a statement, “Galaxy is like an ecosystem.” “We know the centers of galaxies where the action is and play a huge role in their evolution.” Despite the relative proximity, studying the center of the Milky Way is not easy. Our vision is obscured by dust and gas, which even Hubble cannot overcome.

The moon, which we see on X-rays instead of visible light that we can see with our own eyes, can allow smoky dust and gas to enter and reveal its secrecy. In this latest analysis, some exciting new discoveries have been made by Plums emitted by Sagittarius A * as well as an X-ray thread called G0.17-0.41 near the southern Plum, probably the result of some strong magnetic phenomena. Wang explained, “This thread reveals a new phenomenon. 

“This is evidence of an ongoing magnetic field reconnection event.” A magnetic field reconnection event is when two opposite magnetic fields are forced together and released, releasing a huge amount of energy. This violent process is responsible for solar flares, which can produce incredibly bright northern lights. There is still a lot to understand about the center of the Milky Way, such as its still energy budget, how these violent events unfold, and how they affect other galaxies. Astronomers can use this new insight to better understand the workings of us and other similar galaxies.