03-02-2023, 06:33 AM
The Keck Observatory on MK has been observing a cloud of gas and dust very close to and orbiting our Galaxy's central black hole for the last 20 years - they've called in X7. In that time, they have seen the cloud change its shape and elongate thanks to the tidal forces caused by Sagittarius A*, the name of the central black hole. They estimate that within the next twenty years, we'll be able to observe the demise of the cloud as it is torn apart and captured by the black hole. The fragmentation of the cloud has already begun.
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.38...357/acb344
It's very rare that we get to predict and witness an event like this in astronomy, which is both observable in detail as it's relatively close and comes along with a prediction of what will happen in the relatively near future.
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.38...357/acb344
It's very rare that we get to predict and witness an event like this in astronomy, which is both observable in detail as it's relatively close and comes along with a prediction of what will happen in the relatively near future.