Massive Gas Cloud Being Sucked Into Black Hole Discovered In Our Galaxy

If you are a space geek you know that at the center of our galaxy is a black hole. Scientist using the ESO Very Large Telescope have made a very interesting discovery in the center of our galaxy. The astronomers have found a massive gas cloud that is being sucked into the supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy. The discovery will help the astronomers and scientists determine how matter acts that close to something as massive as a black hole.

The gas cloud is estimated to have several times the mass of Earth and to be made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. The cloud is also much cooler than the surrounding stars at 280 degrees Celsius. The team thinks that the gas cloud will be about 36 light hours from the event horizon of the black hole in the middle of 2013.

The closer the gas cloud gets to the event horizon, the more compressed it will become thanks to the external pressure increasing. According to the astronomers, the edges of the gas cloud are already shedding and beginning to disrupt. Over the next several years, the cloud will break up completely. The gas in the cloud will also get much warmer as it nears the black hole and will start to give off x-rays.

[via TG Daily]