Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Milky Way's Giant Black Hole 'Awoke From Slumber' 300 Years Ago

ScienceDaily (Apr. 16, 2008) — Using NASA, Japanese, and European X-ray satellites, a team of Japanese astronomers has discovered that our galaxy’s central black hole let loose a powerful flare three centuries ago.

The finding helps resolve a long-standing mystery: why is the Milky Way’s black hole so quiescent? The black hole, known as Sagittarius A* (pronounced "A-star"), is a certified monster, containing about 4 million times the mass of our Sun. Yet the energy radiated from its surroundings is billions of times weaker than the radiation emitted from central black holes in other galaxies.

More on this article? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415111724.htm

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