As children, many of us gazed up at the night sky, marveling at the moon and stars, blissfully unaware that these celestial bodies are just the tip of the cosmic iceberg. Some of those twinkling points are planets, while others are distant nebulae, comets, or entire galaxies.

However, the universe harbors secrets beyond the visible spectrum, revealing wonders that evade even the most advanced Earth-bound telescopes. Enter the eROSITA, an extraordinary x-ray observatory that has uncovered a startling cosmic phenomenon—the so-called 'Interstellar Tunnel' known as the Local Hot Bubble.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute have unveiled groundbreaking findings about this enigmatic bubble. By harnessing data from eROSITA's all-sky survey, they discovered a significant temperature gradient within the bubble, which they believe could be linked to ancient supernova explosions that shaped and heated this cosmic structure.

Their findings, recently published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, hint that this tunnel extends towards the Constellation Centaurus, potentially connecting our local Hot Bubble with neighboring super bubbles.

This remarkable phenomenon can only be observed thanks to eROSITA’s vantage point in space, far removed from the interference of Earth's atmosphere. Our planet’s corona obscures detection of this type of interstellar x-ray radiation in any other way.

Part of the German-Russian space observatory Spektr-RG, eROSITA's operations are currently halted due to geopolitical tensions. Nevertheless, scientists continue to analyze the valuable data it collected prior to 2022.

The latest findings have resulted in the creation of a 3-D map of the Local Hot Bubble, enriching our understanding of the cosmic environment that envelops us.