Gas cloud being ripped apart by the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way (annotated)
New observations from ESO's Very Large Telescope show how a gas cloud now passing close to the supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy is being ripped apart. The horizontal axis shows the extent of the cloud along its orbit and the vertical axis shows the velocities of different parts of the cloud. The cloud is now dramatically stretched out and the velocity of the front is several million km/h different from that of the tail.
Credit:ESO/S. Gillessen
About the Image
| Id: | eso1332d |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 17 July 2013, 12:00 |
| Related releases: | eso1332 |
| Size: | 1816 x 1638 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Milky Way, Milky Way Galactic Centre, Sgr A* |
| Type: | Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole |
| Distance: | 25000 light years |
| Category: | Quasars and Black Holes |
Colours & filters
| Band | Telescope |
|---|---|
| Infrared Hydrogen Bracket Gamma | Very Large Telescope SINFONI |