Sagittarius A* Black Hole At The Center Of Milky Way Galaxy Suddenly Lights Up
17 August 2019, 8:32 am EDT By Allan Adamson Tech Times
Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, all of a sudden
became 75 times brighter in near-infrared wavelengths in May. What possibly caused
the unusual brightening?
( Gerd Altmann | Pixabay )
Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, is relatively quiet, usually exhibiting only minimal fluctuations in brightness.
Sagittarius A* Black Hole 75 Times Brighter Than Normal
The black hole, however, was caught acting strangely in May this year. Astronomers who were observing the skies using the Keck Observatory in Hawaii noticed that the black hole all of a sudden became 75 times brighter in near-infrared wavelengths before subsiding back to normal levels.
Tuan Do, from the University of California Los Angeles, said they initially thought that the flare was from the nearby star S0-2 because scientists who have been observing Sagittarius A* over the past two decades have never observed it to be that bright.
Do and colleagues, however, eventually realized the source of the flare was the black hole. They were also able to capture the strange brightening in a timelapse.
"The black hole is always variable, but this was the brightest we've seen in the infrared so far," Do posted on Twitter. "It was probably even brighter before we started observing that night!"
More:
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/245030/20190817/sagittarius-a-black-hole-at-the-center-of-milky-way-galaxy-suddenly-lights-up.htm
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