The sleeping giant woke up 200 years ago to devour some nearby cosmic bodies before returning to hibernation, according to the study, the results of which were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
A recent study shows that the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, may not be as hidden as thought, as it has recently returned strongly to activity after devouring cosmic bodies in its path.
The sleeping giant woke up 200 years ago to devour some nearby cosmic bodies before returning to hibernation, according to the study, the results of which were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
Researchers said that the X-ray echo of this strong activity was detected by the US Space Agency’s (NASA) Space Observatory “IXPE”.
The Sagittarius A supermassive black hole is four million times more massive than the Sun. It is located 27,000 light-years from Earth at the center of the spiral of the Milky Way.
Last year, astronomers revealed the first image of a black hole, or the glowing ring of gas surrounding its darkness.
Frédéric Maran, a researcher at the French Astronomical Research Center in Strasbourg, lead author of the study, said that “Sagittarius A” has always been seen as a passive black hole.
The supermassive black holes at the center of their galaxies become dormant after swallowing up all the material close to them. “Imagine a bear eating everything around it and going into hibernation,” Maran told AFP.
But at the end of the 19th century, Sagittarius A. An international team of researchers discovered that it emerged from its slumber and consumed any unfortunate gases and dust that came its way.
This situation continued for a period of several months to a year before the “beast” returned to hibernation.
When the black hole was active, Maran explained, “it was at least a million times brighter than it is today.”
His awareness was noticeable as nearby molecular clouds began to emit more X-ray light.
France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) compared the increase in X-ray light to “a glowworm hidden in the forest that suddenly became as bright as the sun.”
Using NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer – IXPE, astronomers tracked the X-ray light and found it pointed directly at Sagittarius A.
The black hole “is emitting an echo of its earlier activity that we were able to observe for the first time,” Maran said.
The gravitational pull of black holes is so intense that nothing, including light, can escape.
But when matter is absorbed beyond the black hole’s final boundary, known as the event horizon, it emits enormous amounts of heat and light before disappearing into darkness.
It is not clear why Sagittarius A briefly emerges from a dormant state. Could a star or a cloud of gas and dust have come so close?
Astronomers hope that additional observations (from IXPE) will help them better understand what happened, and may reveal more information about the origins of supermassive black holes, which are still shrouded in mystery.
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