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Article: Did Geminga create our hole in space? (orbiting observatories and ground-based telescopes trace Geminga's formation and location)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- January 2, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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For some 20 years, astronomers have pondered evidence that our sun and a few other nearby stars reside inside a huge, relatively gas-free hole in space. Yet they have been unable to identify the violent outburst that might have swept most of the gas away from our tiny corner of the universe, leaving behind a hot, low-density bubble extending about 300 light-years beyond the solar system.
Now researchers say they have a likely suspect. The explosive birth of the powerful gamma-ray emitter Geminga -- until recently one of the most mysterious objects in the heavens -- could have pushed gas out of the nearby interstellar medium and created the bubble, says Neil ...