Astronomers have identified an "interstellar tunnel" in the vicinity of our solar system that may connect to other star systems. This tunnel is part of the Local Hot Bubble (LHB), a vast structure of hot gas with a radius of hundreds of light years surrounding our solar system.
Details of this discovery were published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Researchers utilized extensive data from the eROSITA telescope, the first X-ray observatory fully outside of Earth's atmosphere, to create a 3D model of the LHB. This model confirmed several predicted features and revealed new ones.
Study coauthor Michael Freyberg from Germany's Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics remarked on the discovery of the tunnel towards Centaurus, which carves a gap in the cooler interstellar medium. He noted that the enhanced sensitivity of eROSITA and a different surveying strategy compared to its predecessor, ROSAT, contributed to this finding.
The existence of the LHB was first proposed over fifty years ago to explain the pervasive background X-ray radiation. It is believed to have formed approximately 14 million years ago due to a series of supernova explosions that cleared nearby interstellar material, creating a cavity about 1,000 light years in diameter. Recent observations of star clusters forming at the bubble's border have further supported this theory.
The research also indicates that the interstellar tunnel might be part of a larger network of interstellar medium throughout the Milky Way, shaped by energy blasts from stars. Additionally, the modeling revealed a temperature gradient within the LHB, with the northern region significantly hotter than the southern, suggesting recent supernova activity that may have reheated the bubble's material.