Astronomers find source of Milky Way's unusual microwave light emissions

Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME) was first detected in the Milky Way two decades ago. Initially, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were suspected to cause AME, but not all PAH-rich systems exhibited this glow. Recent research using the Green Bank Telescope and the Australia Telescope Compact Array identified AME in three young star systems surrounded by diamond dust. The emission is thought to arise from rapidly spinning nanodiamonds, which create a dipole moment and emit microwave radiation.

What was initially thought to be responsible for AME in the Milky Way?

• Nanodiamond particles

• Microwave radiation

• Diamond dust

• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Which telescopes were used to study AME in newborn star systems?

• Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory

• Very Large Telescope and Arecibo Observatory

• Green Bank Telescope and Australia Telescope Compact Array

• James Webb Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope

What was found surrounding the newborn star systems where AME was observed?

• Metallic particles

• Water vapor

• Diamond dust

• Gas clouds

What causes the electromagnetic radiation emission in the microwave range?

• Colliding PAH molecules

• Stationary diamond dust

• Rapidly spinning nanodiamond particles

• Slowly spinning nanodiamond particles

What phenomenon is created by the spinning nanodiamond particles?

• A thermal expansion

• A magnetic field

• A dipole moment

• A gravitational wave