A new study demonstrates that the supermassive black hole situated in Milky Way's center might not be as dormant as previously thought.
'Sagittarius A' Black Hole
According to Science Alert, Sagittarius A, the supermassive black hole found in the center of the Milky Way galaxy, has a mass of four million Suns. It is situated around 27,000 light years away from the Earth.
In 2022, astronomers released the black hole's first shot. The image captured the glowing gas ring that surrounded its darkness.
Researcher Frederic Marin from the Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory in France explains that Sagittarius A has always been thought to be a black hole that is dormant.
However, a new study shows that the black hole actually woke up around two centuries ago to feed on cosmic objects nearby before entering its slumber once more.
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Period of Activity and Dormancy
The recent study was published in the Nature journal. The researchers explained that the IXPE space observatory at NASA was able to spot an X-ray echo of the strong activity resurgence.
According to Phys, the international research team found out that around the end of the 1900s, the black hole exited its slumber and fed on dust and gas that were close to it. This took place for several months up until a year. After this period, the giant went back to sleep.
Marin explains that when the Sagittarius A black hole became active, its brightness compared to today could have been a million times stronger. The black hole's awakening would have been observable due to its proximate molecular galactic clouds exuding more X-ray light.
CNRS, a French research agency, explained in a statement that this X-ray light surge is similar to how one glow-worm inside a forest suddenly has the brightness of the Sun.
Astronomers behind the IXPE observatory were able to monitor the X-ray light. They discovered that it directly pointed to Sagittarius A. Marin explains that the supermassive black hole expelled an echo of its previous activities, which they were able to notice for the first time.
Gravity's pull from black holes is too strong for anything to escape, light included. However, when matter gets sucked into the final boundary of the black hole, called the event horizon, it emits an intense quantity of light and heat before it disappears into the dark.
It remains unclear as to why the supermassive black hole briefly woke up from its state of hibernation. The astronomers are hopeful that more observations will help them know more about what transpired and could possibly shed light on supermassive black hole origins that remain a clouded mystery.
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