This image may not be used to state or imply ESA endorsement of any company or product Loop I. Whole sky microwave image from data obtained by the Eur
This image may not be used to state or imply ESA endorsement of any company or product Loop I. Whole sky microwave image from data obtained by the European Space Agency's Planck Satellite, showing Loop I. Loop I is a nearly circular formation that covers one third of the sky, seen here as the yellow arc which fades to purple and can be traced into the southern hemisphere, completing the circle. It is probably a spherical bubble', the centre of which is estimated to be anywhere from 400 light-years to 25 000 light-years away. This image's colours reflect the microwave polarisation - the direction in which the microwaves are oscillating as they are emitted by electrons accelerated by the Milky Way's magnetic field. The blue band spanning the image horizontally is the Galactic Plane. Loop I could well be a supernova remnant or, if the loop is more distant, the result of an outburst from around the black hole at the centre of the Galaxy.
Size: 8607px × 4308px
Photo credit: © ESA/ESA/Planck Collaboration/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -sky, 21st, agency, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, background, bubble, century, cmb, cosmic, cosmological, cosmology, cut, cut-, cut-outs, cutout, cutouts, dust, esa, european, full, full-sky, galactic, galaxy, gas, image, interstellar, ism, loop, medium, microwave, milky, observatory, outs, oval, planck, plane, radiation, remnant, results, satellite, scan, single, sky, space, structure, supernova, survey, universe, white
