The supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way is about to get a snack.
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The supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way is about to get a snack.
Update: The recently launched NuStar telescope in July detected its first flare from the central black hole (which by the way is called Sagittarius A* and is pronounced Sagittarius A-star). If the gas cloud produces any fireworks as it whips past the black hole in the coming year then NuStar should see it.
Please consider donating to Behind the Black, by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below. Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Regular readers can support Behind The Black with a contribution via paypal:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
The supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way is about to get a snack.
Update: The recently launched NuStar telescope in July detected its first flare from the central black hole (which by the way is called Sagittarius A* and is pronounced Sagittarius A-star). If the gas cloud produces any fireworks as it whips past the black hole in the coming year then NuStar should see it.
Why is the presentation of pornography allowed in this supposedly conservative blog (see above), but true conservatism is being discredited?
Because the poster managed to sneak through Robert’s filter program. All that needs to happen is notify Robert and it will be gone.
As to the snack consumed by Sag A*, the advances in instrumentation is truly incredible.
a nice backgrounder…
“The Monster Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way”
Dr. Andrea Ghez
Silicon Valley Astronomy public lecture [January 2017]
https://youtu.be/dv1igzE-aX4
1:11:37
“By imaging the Galactic Center at infrared wavelengths, Ghez and her colleagues have been able to peer through heavy dust that blocks visible light, and to produce images of the center of the Milky Way. Thanks to the 10 m aperture of the W.M. Keck Telescope and the use of adaptive optics to correct for the turbulence of the atmosphere, these images of the Galactic Center are at very high spatial resolution and have made it possible to follow the orbits of stars around the black hole, which is also known as Sagittarius A* or Sgr A*.”