JazzManJim
On the Downbeat
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2001
- Posts
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The report explains in brief this rather interesting discovery.
Scientists working at the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany had been carefull tracking the orbit of a star very near the center of the galaxy. Previous observations strongly suggested that at the center of our galaxy lies a massive black hole (on the order of two and a half million times the mass of our sun). After tracking 2/3 of the star's orbit, the scientists confirmed that the orbit matched what would be expected of a star orbiting a body of that size.
The discovery essentially confirms with little doubt that what lies at the center of the galaxy (dubbed Saggitarius A) is a super-massive black hole. Earlier studies of Sgr A showed that it emitted large amounts of x-rays, which are emitted when a black hole draws in huge amounts of matter form the area around it. The material is compressed very quickly as it is consumed by the black hole and the high-energy x-rays are what is produced as the matter is compressed.
In a related story, former German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin described Saggitarius A as "hitleresque" and decried its unilateral absorption of stellar matter without consulting any neighbors at the center of the Galaxy.
Scientists working at the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany had been carefull tracking the orbit of a star very near the center of the galaxy. Previous observations strongly suggested that at the center of our galaxy lies a massive black hole (on the order of two and a half million times the mass of our sun). After tracking 2/3 of the star's orbit, the scientists confirmed that the orbit matched what would be expected of a star orbiting a body of that size.
The discovery essentially confirms with little doubt that what lies at the center of the galaxy (dubbed Saggitarius A) is a super-massive black hole. Earlier studies of Sgr A showed that it emitted large amounts of x-rays, which are emitted when a black hole draws in huge amounts of matter form the area around it. The material is compressed very quickly as it is consumed by the black hole and the high-energy x-rays are what is produced as the matter is compressed.
In a related story, former German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin described Saggitarius A as "hitleresque" and decried its unilateral absorption of stellar matter without consulting any neighbors at the center of the Galaxy.
