A Mystery Object Is Being Dragged Into The Black Hole at The Center of Our Galaxy

[Judi Lynn]

03 March 2023
By DAVID NIELD



Keck Observatory image of the galactic center showing X7. (A. Ciurlo et al./UCLA GCOI/W. M. Keck Observatory)

For decades, astronomers have watched a mysterious blob named X7 drift around the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, wondering where it came from.

By analyzing 20 years' worth of observations, a team of scientists led by University of California Los Angeles astrophysicist Anna Ciurlo has uncovered dramatic transformation in the X7's shape, stretching to almost twice its initial length.That change in structure suggests the strange blob is most likely made of debris ejected during a relatively recent collision between two stars.

"No other object in this region has shown such an extreme evolution," Ciurlo explains.

"It started off comet-shaped and people thought maybe it got that shape from stellar winds or jets of particles from the black hole. But as we followed it for 20 years we saw it becoming more elongated. Something must have put this cloud on its particular path with its particular orientation."

. . .



More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-mystery-object-is-being-dragged-into-the-black-hole-at-the-center-of-our-galaxy