Milky Way's hot gas halo could solve "missing baryon" mystery

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Astronomers have found evidence that the Milky Way is embedded in an enormous halo of hot gas extending for hundreds of thousands of light years (Image: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)

Article Summary

An international team of astronomers has combined data from NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory, ESA's XMM-Newton space observatory and Japan's Suzaku satellite to suggest that our galaxy may be surrounded by a halo of hot gas extending in all directions for hundreds of thousands of light-years. The finding also offers clues as to why more than half of the ordinary matter in early galaxies has seemingly disappeared without leaving a trace.

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