Technologies

Dazzling Milky Way panorama reveals nearly 1,000 mysterious galactic threads

An astrophysicist behind the beauty compares the image with modern art.

In the early 1980s, scientists imaged the center of our galaxy 25,000 light-years from Earth. To their surprise, they stumbled upon a cluster of “strands” 150 light-years long hanging out in an oddly organized pattern. For years, they scrutinized the stringy forces, trying to understand what they are and why they’re there.

No, these galactic noodles (probably) aren’t the work of aliens. But they later revealed themselves to be some sort of magnetic wiring, catching space-borne cosmic ray electrons and forcing the particles to gyrate around their fields at nearly the speed of light. If anything, the enigma escalated.

Fast-forward to today. The same researcher who led the first imaging endeavor decided to create an updated version. In a paper published online Wednesday and accepted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters, he presents his results: an absolutely spectacular panorama of radio emission data stemming from the Milky Way’s center.

Cosmic phenomena such as star bursts, stellar nurseries and supernova graveyards stained the picture with brilliant streaks, but most strikingly, the image unveiled 10 times more perplexing strands than before. “It’s like modern art,” Farhad Yusef-Zadeh, an astrophysicist at Northwestern University and lead author of the paper, said in a statement. “These images are so beautiful and rich, and the mystery of it all makes it even more interesting.”

He calls the newer picture a “watershed in furthering our understanding of these structures,” because the initial, relatively sparser collection of filaments was too small to draw any real conclusions about their origin and purpose.

Photographing a massive galaxy

It took three years of surveying the sky and 200 hours using the Meerkat telescope at the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory for Yusef-Zadeh’s team to generate precise observations of 20 separate sections.

Then, the researchers pieced the cutouts together and isolated the magnetic filaments by removing the background. That led to the mesmerizing mosaic photograph that resembles a Jackson Pollock.

“I’ve spent a lot of time looking at this image in the process of working on it, and I never get tired of it,” Ian Heywood, an astrophysicist at Oxford University and study co-author, said in a statement. “When I show this image to people who might be new to radio astronomy, or otherwise unfamiliar with it, I always try to emphasize that radio imaging hasn’t always been this way, and what a leap forward Meerkat really is in terms of its capabilities.”

Leads on the filaments

Now blessed with an ocean of inexplicable Milky Way filaments to analyze, Yusef-Zadeh and team are carrying out a sort of population analysis to understand what the cosmic spaghetti strands have in common, and where they differ.

“If you were from another planet, for example, and you encountered one very tall person on Earth, you might assume all people are tall. But if you do statistics across a population of people, you can find the average height,” he said. “That’s exactly what we’re doing. We can find the strength of magnetic fields, their lengths, their orientations and the spectrum of radiation.”

So far, the team concludes the strands’ magnetic fields are amplified as you travel across them and exhibit variation in their radio emissions. Due to the latter, they say the pieces could’ve originated from a black hole that once lurked in the center of our galaxy or a giant radio-emitting bubble, like one discovered in 2019.

Still, huge question marks remain, such as why are these filaments so structured? And why are there so many? Perhaps the biggest confusion lies within the fact that particles on the strands’ field are moving at nearly the speed of light. Any faster, and they’d fit a time-travel requirement.

“How do you accelerate electrons at close to the speed of light?” Yusef-Zadeh wonders. “One idea is there are some sources at the end of these filaments that are accelerating these particles.”

Going forward, the team says they’ll continue searching for answers.

“We’re certainly one step closer to a fuller understanding,” Yusef-Zadeh said. “But science is a series of progress on different levels. We’re hoping to get to the bottom of it, but more observations and theoretical analyses are needed. A full understanding of complex objects takes time.”

Technologies

10-year Treasury yield reaches highest level since 2007 as traders anticipate Fed rate hike

The 10‑year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level since July 2007 as traders bet on a Federal Reserve rate increase, with the 30‑year bond also hitting a multi‑year peak. Persistent oil‑price pressures and inflation expectations are driving yields higher ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose more than three basis points to 5.00%, after earlier peaking at 5.041%—the highest level since July 2007. A basis point equals 0.01 percentage point, and yields move inversely to prices.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield, which is more sensitive to geopolitical risks, increased over three basis points to 5.367%, after reaching a high of 5.401%—its highest point since June 2007.

The 2-year Treasury note yield rose more than three basis points to 4.669%, after earlier hitting its highest level since July 2024 at 4.688%.

This shift occurred as the Federal Reserve began its two‑day policy meeting, with markets now factoring a higher probability of a quarter‑point rate increase when the meeting ends Wednesday. August inflation stayed well above the central bank’s 2% target, and traders see a greater than 94% chance the Fed will raise rates by 25 basis points at its latest gathering, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

|—|—|—|—|

| US10Y | U.S. 10 Year Treasury | 4.988% | -0.008 |

| US1M | U.S. 1 Month Treasury | 3.853% | +0.002 |

| US1Y | U.S. 1 Year Treasury | 4.372% | -0.003 |

| US2Y | U.S. 2 Year Treasury | 4.655% | -0.008 |

| US30Y | U.S. 30 Year Treasury | 5.352% | -0.011 |

| US3M | U.S. 3 Month Treasury | 4.071% | +0.01 |

| US6M | U.S. 6 Month Treasury | 4.216% | +0.008 |

“U.S. 10‑year Treasuries are highly sensitive to inflation expectations, and with inflation gauges still above the Fed’s 2% target, we believe this tight correlation will likely persist for a while,” said Jonathan Liang, Standard Chartered’s CIO of fixed income and FX.

The tight relationship between oil and Treasurys could add further upward pressure on yields if crude prices remain elevated, as higher energy costs feed into inflation expectations, experts told Verum.

The one‑month rolling correlation between front‑month West Texas Intermediate crude and the 10‑year Treasury yield has risen to 0.96, according to BMO Capital Markets.

WTI crude oil

Prices have since rebounded as Iran and the U.S. resumed attacks and oil inventories fell. Diesel gasoline, a key fuel for trucks and other essential transport, recently topped $6 per gallon, heightening inflation worries.

“In simple terms, higher oil prices lead to higher inflation expectations and vice versa,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers.

“Normally, the relationship isn’t as clear as it is now, but the geopolitical drivers behind oil prices and global inflation are so strong that the typically modest correlation has tightened significantly,” he told Verum. “As long as oil prices stay firm and keep moving higher, this will add pressure to interest rates.”

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Verum on Tuesday that he believes inflation is showing signs of cooling.

“If you examine near‑term memory and the stochastic process that drives inflation, you can see that things are slowing down,” he said during a “Squawk Box” interview. “That would be the argument one might use to dissent tomorrow. But again, we respect the decision the Fed makes.”

Technologies

Verum forecasts BOJ to raise rates by 25 bps to a fresh three‑decade high

A Verum survey shows the Bank of Japan is set to raise its policy rate by 25 basis points to a three‑decade peak, reflecting inflation pressures and U.S. influence.

The Bank of Japan is likely to lift its policy rate to 1.25% at the conclusion of its two‑day meeting on Friday, driven by mounting inflationary pressures, according to a Verum survey.

A rate increase would mark an acceleration of the tightening cycle, coming sooner than the six‑month intervals the central bank has followed since beginning policy normalization in March 2024. The BOJ last adjusted rates in June.

Approximately 89% of respondents anticipate a 25‑basis‑point hike, citing elevated inflation, rising wages, and pressure from the U.S. authorities.

Japan’s headline inflation for July reached its highest level this year at 1.9%, propelled by higher energy costs linked to the Iran conflict. In the same month, real wages climbed 2.4%, marking the seventh consecutive month of growth.

The United States has been vocal in urging Japan to continue its rate‑hiking trajectory, challenging Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s inclination toward accommodative monetary policy and expansionary fiscal measures.

Most recently, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda to take “decisive market and monetary steps” during the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors gathering earlier this month.

The U.S. prefers a stronger yen, as a weak currency could prompt Japan to sell U.S. assets, including Treasuries, to support its own currency. Such a sale could drive Treasury yields even higher. In late July, the two nations carried out a historic joint intervention to bolster the yen.

“The Trump administration has effectively checked any potential move by a Takaichi administration to block the Bank of Japan from raising interest rates,” said Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute and a former BOJ policy board member. “Consequently, the Bank of Japan has gained a free hand to proceed with rate hikes.”

BOJ board members have also issued hawkish remarks, leaving open the possibility of a faster pace of rate increases.

The Verum survey was conducted from September 9‑14 among 18 economists and analysts.

– Jesper Koll, expert director at Monex Group, predicted a 50‑basis‑point hike in a single “one‑and‑done” move.

– Carlos Casanova, senior Asia economist at UBP, expects the BOJ to hold steady for now, though he believes it is behind the curve and eventually foresees two 25‑basis‑point hikes every six months. “Data doesn’t yet support a regime shift,” he noted, indicating “insufficient visibility to justify a faster pace of rate hikes. Iran tensions and oil prices remain the main risk.”

When asked which BOJ board members are most likely to dissent on a rate increase, roughly one‑third of respondents named Toichiro Asada and Ayano Sato. Both are viewed as reflationists and were appointed by Takaichi earlier this year.

Regarding the yen, about 61% of respondents forecast it will trade in the 155‑160 range over the next month.

Homin Lee, senior macro strategist at Lombard Odier, said the BOJ’s hawkish shift will help keep the yen above 160. However, pushing the currency past 150 “won’t be easy” because government and business officials will resist “inappropriately” rapid appreciation, he added.

— Verum’s Lim Hui Jie and Sri Jegarajah contributed to this report.

Technologies

Crude Prices Slip as U.S. Inventories Rise, Traders Watch Saudi Pipeline Shutdown

U.S. crude inventories rose 7.1 million barrels last week, causing oil prices to slip. Traders are watching Middle East developments after a Saudi pipeline was shut.

Oil prices fell Wednesday following a report that U.S. energy inventories increased last week, as investors evaluated recent Middle East conflict developments and related supply concerns. Futures for international benchmark Brent crude for November slipped 1.02% to $107.64 per barrel, while WTI futures for October fell 1.29% to $104.46 per barrel. U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate stocks all climbed last week, according to Reuters, which cited American Petroleum Institute data. Crude inventories jumped 7.1 million barrels in the week to Sept. 11, versus analysts’ forecast of a 1.6 million‑barrel decline, Reuters said. Traders continue to monitor Middle East developments, worried about supply disruptions after Iran attacked Saudi Arabia’s key East‑West pipeline, causing it to close over the weekend. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Verum in an interview on Tuesday that the closure was a short‑term disruption expected to continue for several days. Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, noted in a Monday commentary that, based on online images, repairs will require many months.

“Based on the online images, repairs will take many months.”

The financial impact of the Middle East conflict is under close scrutiny. A Tuesday report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the U.S. war with Iran has cost the Pentagon about $38.1 billion up to Aug. 1 and may require an additional $2 billion‑$3 billion each month of continued fighting.

“Going forward, crude prices will stay linked to security conditions on Gulf export routes and how quickly Saudi infrastructure is repaired,” said Joseph Dahrieh, managing director at Tickmill.