COMPTEL 26-Aluminum Map of the Galactic Plane
First COMPTEL map of the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy
in the emission of 1.809-MeV
gamma-rays from the radioactive decay of 26-Aluminum.
This high-energy emission traces nucleosynthesis in our Galaxy over the
last few million years.
The irregular and asymmetric
appearance suggests that localized regions contribute substantially
to the observed emission,
in addition to the smooth distribution expected
from at least 10,000 Galaxy-wide nucleosynthetic events
(i.e., novae and supernovae). The total
26-Al content of our Galaxy may thus be well below the 3 solar-masses
derived from earlier measurements of the region
toward the Galactic Centre.
For further information, see
"COMPTEL Observations of Galactic 26Al Emission"
(Diehl et al., 1995, AA, 296, 445).
Back to the COMPTEL Science Highlights Page
Back to the Main COMPTEL WWW Page