Science & technology

Here be serpents

|

NEAR the centre of the Milky Way lurks something at least as weird as dark matter, but definitely visible. Through their radio telescopes, astronomers can see a bright strand, 150 light years long and a couple wide, and kinked in two places. They call it the Snake.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Here be serpents”

Six months on

From the March 8th 1997 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Science & technology

Drainage canals (linear features that drain into a small meandering river) seen from above.

A sophisticated civilisation once flourished in the Amazon basin

How the Casarabe died out remains a mystery

Three rotated avocados made from small numbers

Heritable Agriculture, a Google spinout, is bringing AI to crop breeding

By reducing the cost of breeding, the firm hopes to improve yields and other properties for an array of important crops


Boom Supersonic makes aviation history as XB-1 breaks the sound barrier.

Could supersonic air travel make a comeback?

Boom Supersonic’s demonstrator jet exceeds Mach 1


Should you worry about microplastics?

Little is known about the effects on humans—but limiting exposure to them seems prudent

Wasps stole genes from viruses

That probably assisted their evolutionary diversification

America’s departure from the WHO would harm everyone

Whether it is a negotiating ploy remains to be seen