Location: Local Galactic Group
Diameter: ~110,000 ly
Distance to Galactic Center: ~27,000 ly
Mainstream description
Multiple observations in various wavelengths from radio to gamma-rays have detected two large lobes or “bubbles” of charged particles emanating from the center of our galaxy. These lobes extend over 25,000 light years in opposite directions from the center of the galactic plane, spanning more than half of the visible sky. The lobes follow the magnetic field lines of the Milky Way galaxy and emit multi-wavelength synchrotron radiation. The source of these bubbles is unknown but is theorized to be driven by vast quantities of star formation or a supermassive black hole in the Galactic Center.
Alternative description
Two or more large-scale Birkeland currents are bound tightly together and rotating as one galactic body. The resultant enormous rotating magnetic field accelerates charged particles to high speeds and in opposite directions through a powerful central plasma pinch. While this accelerated plasma may not currently be energized enough to form jets, it is expanding in the form of giant lobes or “bubbles”.