Exploring the Heart of the Milky Way: Zooming into Sagittarius A<br /><br />ESO’s exquisitely sensitive GRAVITY instrument has added further evidence to the long-standing assumption that a supermassive black hole lurks in the centre of the Milky Way. New observations show clumps of gas swirling around at about 30% of the speed of light on a circular orbit just outside a four million solar mass black hole — the first time material has been observed orbiting close to the point of no return, and the most detailed observations yet of material orbiting this close to a black hole.<br /><br />This video starts with a wide view of the Milky Way and then zooms into a visualization of data from simulations of orbital motions of gas swirling around at about 30% of the speed of light on a circular orbit around the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*.<br /><br />More information and download options: http://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso1...<br /><br />Credit:<br />ESO/Gravity Consortium/L. Calçada/N. Risinger (skysurvey.org). Music: Johan B. Monell
