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Astro Bob blog: G2 cloud survives the terror of the Milky Way's black hole

In the center of the Milky Way galaxy resides a supermassive black hole four million times more massive than the Sun. More than enough gravitational might to shred and devour a wispy little dust cloud. Amazingly, it survived.

1614235+G2 ESO Anno.jpg — Composite image of the dusty cloud G2 shows it first closing in and then passing the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. The cloud survived its encounter. The blobs have been colorized to show the motion of the cloud, red for receding and blue for approaching. The cross marks the position of the black hole. Photos by ESO/A. Eckart

By Robert King

March 26, 2015 at 10:56 AM

In the center of the Milky Way galaxy resides a supermassive black hole four million times more massive than the Sun. More than enough gravitational might to shred and devour a wispy little dust cloud. Amazingly, it survived.

By Robert King