Big Pic: The Milky Way's Black Hole Devours Hot Gas
Artist's rendering of the center of the Milky Way Very hot gas orbits the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, and it may be about to fall in. ESA-C. Carreau Chomp chomp, guuulp. Later this year, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way will dine on a small passing cloud of gas, which wandered too close and is now spiraling toward the black hole's maw. But that may only be a first course, according to new observations. The Herschel space telescope spotted a vast amount of surprisingly hot molecular gas near the galactic center. It might be falling in towards the black hole, or just orbiting it. The black hole is located near a radio source called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*, so sometimes the black hole is referenced with that name. Herschel could see it because its far-infrared eyes can peer through the dust between...