Astronomers have made an exciting discovery near the center of our Milky Way galaxy—long, thin “space tornadoes” made of swirling gas.
These strange structures were spotted by an international team of scientists using the powerful ALMA telescope in Chile.
At the heart of the Milky Way lies a supermassive black hole surrounded by a chaotic region known as the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ).
This area is filled with dust and gas, constantly moving and reacting to powerful shock waves.
Until now, scientists didn’t fully understand how the materials in this zone move and change over time.
Thanks to ALMA’s incredibly sharp vision—100 times better than before—researchers led by Kai Yang from Shanghai Jiao Tong University have now found something new: thin, thread-like structures twisting through the gas clouds.
These “slim filaments” don’t behave like anything scientists have seen before.
The team was studying the gas using a special molecule called silicon monoxide (SiO), which appears only when shock waves are present.
That’s how they spotted the slim filaments, which seem to be created by violent shocks moving through space. Surprisingly, these filaments don’t line up with areas where stars are forming, and they don’t contain dust—unlike many other known space structures.
“We were amazed when we saw them,” Yang said. “They’re so different from what we expected.”
The filaments behave a lot like mini space tornadoes. They are fast-moving streams of gas that form quickly, distribute materials into the surrounding space, and then disappear. These tornadoes help move important elements like SiO and other complex molecules into the galaxy’s environment.
Professor Xing Lu, one of the study’s co-authors, explained, “These filaments play a key role in circulating material around the galactic center.”
It’s still unclear exactly how these space tornadoes form, but shock waves seem to be the main cause. The team also found signs of other molecules—like CH₃OH and CH₃CN—that further support the idea that these structures are created by sudden, powerful energy bursts.
According to the researchers, this discovery shows how the CMZ works in cycles. First, shock waves create the slim filaments and release molecules into space. Then, after the filaments vanish, the molecules float around until they freeze back into dust—starting the cycle all over again.
This discovery opens the door for more detailed studies in the future. Scientists hope to use ALMA to look for more of these filaments across the CMZ and run computer simulations to understand them better. For now, it’s clear these space tornadoes are a big piece of the puzzle in how our galaxy works.
Source: National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
