g2 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

A rare crash at the Milky Way’s core: U-Michigan astronomers could be the first to see it

ANN ARBOR — University of Michigan astronomers could be the first to witness a rare collision expected to happen at the center of the galaxy by spring.

With NASA’s orbiting Swift telescope, the U-M team is taking daily images of a mysterious gas cloud about three times the mass of Earth that’s spiraling toward the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s core. From our vantage point, the core lies more than 25,000 light years away in the southern summer sky near the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius. (more…)

Hungry Black Hole

By Guest PostOctober 28, 2012Sciencea star, asteroid, astronomers, astronomical observatory, australia, billion year, black hole, celestial fireworks, center, chow down, comet, dark gray, delaware, double star, dust, dust cloud, emission, explosion, g2, galactic, Galaxy, gas, gravitational pull, harry shipman, hungry, infrared, keck observatory, light year, mark morris, microwave, Milky Way, mount cuba, optics, sagittarius a, slumbering giant, so 16, spatial fluctuation, telescope, turbulent atmosphere, university, x ray, xray data, YouTube

Astronomers poised for galactic chow-down

The super-massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy has a healthy appetite, frequently snacking on asteroids and comets. Now, a cloud of gas and dust called G2 is on a dangerous course to become its next meal.

Even though Sagittarius A* (pronounced “Sagittarius A-star”) hasn’t been easy to see through the cosmic dust, sitting 25,000 light years away at galaxy central, scientists know it is a black hole — and a hungry one at that. Its weight has been estimated to be more than that of 4 million suns. (more…)

Tag Archives: g2

A rare crash at the Milky Way’s core: U-Michigan astronomers could be the first to see it

Hungry Black Hole