A Second Supermassive Black Hole May Hide at the Center of the Milky Way
Could a second supermassive black hole be orbiting the one we already know about near the mysterious core of the Milky Way galaxy? New studies suggest our black hole may have a dark, mysterious companion.
Nearly every galaxy astronomers have ever seen contains a supermassive black hole near its center, and our own Milky Way is no exception. However, new research suggests that this invisible behemoth may also have a dark, mysterious partner, orbiting it from afar.
Near the center of the Milky Way sits Sagittarius A* (pronounced “Sag A star”), our local supermassive black hole. Despite its mass, four million times greater than the Sun, this is a sleeping giant. The object is relatively quiet (as far as galactic black holes go), although some signs of increased activity have recently been seen.
Scientists have long speculated about the nature of black holes, and four types of the objects are currently known. The largest of these, supermassive black holes (SMBH’s), have masses of more than a million suns and are usually found near the center of galaxies. There, apart from brief periods of fasting, they consume everything around them for eons on end, growing to enormous proportions.
