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A molecular gas streamer feeding the Galactic Centre

Nature volume 350, pages 309–312 (1991)Cite this article

Abstract

Radio maps of ammonia emission around the nucleus of the Milky Way reveal a long streamer of molecular gas connecting the well known circumnuclear 2-pc ring with molecular clouds 10–20 pc further out. These clouds appear to be interacting with nearby supernova remnants, suggesting that the impact of the supernovae on the gas may have impelled some of it inwards, thus providing a source of fuel for the activity at the Galactic Centre.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    Paul T. P. Ho & Luis C. Ho

  2. Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA

    John C. Szczepanski & Alan H. Barrett

  3. Astronomy Department, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA

    James M. Jackson

  4. US Naval Observatory, Astronomy Department, Washington, DC, 20390, USA

    J. Thomas Armstrong

Authors
  1. Paul T. P. Ho
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  2. Luis C. Ho
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  3. John C. Szczepanski
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  4. James M. Jackson
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  5. J. Thomas Armstrong
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  6. Alan H. Barrett
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Ho, P., Ho, L., Szczepanski, J. et al. A molecular gas streamer feeding the Galactic Centre. Nature 350, 309–312 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/350309a0

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