Mysterious object at the centre of the Milky Way may be a new STAR: Experts discount claims G2 phenomenon is a cloud 

  • University of Cologne scientists say G2 cloud is actually a star
  • The object was found orbiting the Milky Way's core in 2002
  • It was thought to be a cloud of gas orbiting the supermassive black hole
  • But the team says it is too compact to be a cloud of gas
  • Studying the object could reveal how black holes 'feed' on material 

Towards the centre of our galaxy there is a strange object known as G2 that is drifting around the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole.

The origins of this 'cloud' have remained somewhat a mystery and now a new theory has been proposed - the cloud is actually a star.

New observations suggest it is too compact to be a clump of gas, and instead its more likely to be a stellar object.

University of Cologne scientists say G2 cloud is actually a star. The object was found orbiting the Milky Way's core in 2002. This composite image shows the motion of the dusty cloud G2 as it closes in on, and then passes, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way - and it remains compact, like a star

University of Cologne scientists say G2 cloud is actually a star. The object was found orbiting the Milky Way's core in 2002. This composite image shows the motion of the dusty cloud G2 as it closes in on, and then passes, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way - and it remains compact, like a star

The new theory was proposed by scientists from the University of Cologne in Germany and published in the Astrophysical Journal.

G2 has fascinated astronomers since it was first found in 2002 because it is not obvious where it has come from.

WHY IS G2 SO IMPORTANT TO ASTRONOMERS?

Sagittarius A* lurks 26,000 light years away in the Milky Way's innermost region.

For a black hole, it is very dim - about a billion times fainter than others of its supermassive types - making it something of a mystery.

Black holes eat matter from their surroundings and blow matter back. The way they do that influences the evolution of the entire galaxy.

Its interaction with the gas clouds G1 and G2 will give astronomers a unique opportunity to see how faint supermassive black holes 'feed'.

They hope to understand these black holes don't consume matter in the same way as their brighter counterparts in other galaxies.

The findings could shed light on how stars are formed, how the galaxy grows and how it interacts with other galaxies. 

Studying it could help scientists understand how supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies draw in material and ‘feed’.

Observations had suggested G2 was stretched, like a cloud - and may even have a companion, dubbed G1.

But according to the team, the latest observations show that G2 remained intact as it made a recent close pass to the black hole.

If it had been a cloud, it would have been spread apart by the black hole’s intense gravity.

‘For us, everything points at it being a young star,’ Dr Andreas Eckart, a co-author on the paper, told Space.com.

Before 2014, the cloud was moving away from us, but now it is moving towards Earth - increasing in speed from 6.2 million to 7.4 million mph (10 million to 12 million km/h).

‘We don't see any stretching of the cloud that was claimed previously,’ Dr Eckart said.

‘We get a much more coherent picture of a single object.’

Other experts, though, have suggested the team is not observing the whole object, and thus is missing some of its features.

G2 has fascinated astronomers since it was first found in 2002 because it is not obvious where it has come from. Studying it could help scientists understand how supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies (illustrated) draw in material and ‘feed’

G2 has fascinated astronomers since it was first found in 2002 because it is not obvious where it has come from. Studying it could help scientists understand how supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies (illustrated) draw in material and ‘feed’

Observations had suggested G2 was stretched, like a cloud (illustrated)
But according to the team, the latest observations show that G2 remained intact as it made a recent close pass to the black hole - suggesting it is a star (illustrated)

Now debate will rage on whether G2 is a cloud of gas (illustrated left) or a star (illustrated right). Observations had suggested G2 was stretched, like a cloud. But according to the team, the latest observations show that G2 remained intact as it made a recent close pass to the black hole - suggesting it is a star

'Our basic idea is that G1 and G2 might be clumps of the same gas streamer,’ Dr Oliver Pfuhl of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics said in December.

'In this case, we should be able to simultaneously fit both data sets and, indeed, our model captures the G1 and G2 orbits remarkably well.'

If they are clouds, the likely source for both G1 and G2 could be clumps in the wind of one of the massive disk stars, which could have been ejected some 100 years ago.

Whatever they turn out to be, the answer could reveal a fascinating insight into some of the goings on near the black hole at the Milky Way's core.

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