Supermassive Black Hole To Vacuum Up Huge Gas Cloud in 2013

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A gas cloud 3 times more massive than Earth is rushing toward annihilation. The supermassive black hole at the Milky Way's center is pulling the cloud at nearly 5,000,000 mph. Europe's Very Large Telescope has captured a view of the cloud en route.

Researchers have spotted a giant gas cloud spiralling into the supermassive black hole at our galaxy's centre.

Though it is known that black holes draw in everything nearby, it will be the first chance to see one consume such a cloud.

As it is torn apart, the turbulent area around the black hole will become unusually bright, giving astronomers a chance to learn more about it.

An article in Nature suggests the spectacle should be visible in 2013. (BBC News)

Our observations tightly constrain the cloud’s orbit to be highly eccentric, with an innermost radius of approach of only ~3,100 times the event horizon that will be reached in 2013. Over the past three years the cloud has begun to disrupt, probably mainly through tidal shearing arising from the black hole’s gravitational force. The cloud’s dynamic evolution and radiation in the next few years will probe the properties of the accretion flow and the feeding processes of the supermassive black hole. The kilo-electronvolt X-ray emission of Sgr A* may brighten significantly when the cloud reaches pericentre. There may also be a giant radiation flare several years from now if the cloud breaks up and its fragments feed gas into the central accretion zone.