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Sagittarius A*:
Chandra Catches Milky Way Monster Snacking
Chandra Catches Milky Way Monster Snacking
This false-color image shows the central region of our Milky Way Galaxy as seen by Chandra. The bright, point-like source at the center of the image was produced by a huge X-ray flare that occurred in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. This central black hole has about 2.6 million times the mass of our Sun and is associated with the compact radio source Sagittarius A*.
During the observation the X-ray source at the galactic center brightened dramatically in a few minutes, and after about 3 hours, rapidly declined to the pre-flare level. The rapid variation in X-ray intensity indicates that the flare was due to material as close to the black hole as the Earth is to the Sun. This is the most compelling evidence yet that matter falling toward the black hole is fueling energetic activity in the galactic center.
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Visual Description:
The X-ray astronomical image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory features supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, as the main subject. The image is dominated by shades of brown around the perimeter, with some green and yellow interspersed around the center. The bright, point-like source at the center of the image was produced by a huge X-ray flare that occurred in the vicinity of Sagittarius A*, has about 4 million times the mass of our Sun. Sagittarius A* is one of the brightest sources of X-rays in the sky and has been studied extensively by scientists to better understand black holes and their role in the universe.
Revised: September 09, 2025