Project description
Sensitive X-ray study to reveal hot plasma pouring out from Milky Way centre
In the 1990s, the Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) telescope performed an all-sky survey in the X-ray band, confirming the existence of the Galactic corona – a hot, ionised, gaseous component found in the interstellar medium (ISM). This is a critical finding, since scientists assume that the growth of galaxies depends on the interplay between the hot plasma and the other phases of the ISM. However, the properties of the hot plasma are unknown outside the solar neighbourhood, because these maps can not track the hot plasma beyond 1 thousand parsecs, in the Galactic plane. The EU-funded Hot Milk project will conduct an X-ray survey that will exceed the sensitivity of current surveys by two orders of magnitude. Its aim is to clearly demonstrate that flows of hot plasma connect the Milky Way centre to the galactic halo.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantHost institution
00136 Roma
Italy
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Beneficiaries (2)
00136 Roma
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80539 Munchen
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