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Black Hole at Center of Milky Way

Posted by michael on from the frank-hayes-had-it-right dept.

kwertii writes: "The Washington Post reports new evidence that there is a black hole with the mass of 2.6 million suns at the center of our galaxy. The Chandra X-Ray Observatory happened to be looking at the presumed site of the hole at the moment it absorbed a comet, blasting x-rays off into space as a byproduct. The implication is that the Milky Way is slowly spiraling down into a giant galactic drain..."

2 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. Minor nitpicking... by Vuarnet · · Score: 0, Redundant

    By a stroke of good fortune, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory satellite happened to be looking when the presumed black hole enjoyed a quick snack of gas and dust. Analysis of the resulting belch -- a sudden X-ray flare that changed in intensity over a span of just a few minutes -- provided strong new support for the existence of the black hole. So when did this gas and dust turn into a comet, exactly?

    This hipothesis of a giant blach hole at the center of the galaxy is really interesting... too bad we won't have the galactic center exploding, as in Larry Niven's "Known Universe" books.

    --
    Tongue-tied and twisted, just an earth-bound misfit, I
    Learning to fly, Pink Floyd.
  2. The milkiyway may have a black hole... by smaughster · · Score: 1, Redundant

    But we've got CowboyNeal!

    I wonder if these effects will cancel each other

    --
    I intend to live forever, so far so good.