Astronomers detect eerie echo coming from 26,000 light-years deep inside our galaxy<br /><br />Astronomers detect eerie echo coming from 26,000 light-years deep inside our galaxy<br /><br />The sound marks an intense period of activity as gas and dust are eaten<br />The supermassive black hole sits at the center of our Milky Way <br /><br />Scientists have detected an eerie echo coming from a supermassive black hole that is four million times more massive than the sun at the center of our Milky Way.<br /><br />The sound, which hits high and low notes, marks a very intense period of activity as gas and dust were gobbled up about 200 years ago when the dark abyss burst into life after laying dormant.<br /><br />Researchers at the Astronomical Strasbourg Observatory in France captured massive amounts of radiation emitted by Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) in light reflected by clouds in the Galactic Center - the middle region of our galaxy.<br /><br />When a black hole is 'dormant,' the dark abyss does not emit high levels of X-ray radiation, which is how such black holes are typically detected.<br /><br />Astronomers captured a remarkable image of Sgr A* in 2022, showing what looks like a glowing red and orange colored donut hanging in the blackness of space.<br /><br />Stars were previously seen orbiting around something invisible, compact, and very massive at the center of the Milky Way.<br /><br />This strongly suggested that the object was a black hole, and last year's image provides the first direct visual evidence.<br /><br />Although it is impossible to see the black hole itself because it is entirely dark, glowing gas around it reveals a telltale signature: a dark central region (called a shadow) surrounded by a bright ring-like structure.<br /><br />The new view captures light bent by the powerful gravity of the black hole.
