Mass of Gas Circling Around the Black Hole in 70 Minutes

The center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, is home to a massive black hole called Sagittarius A*. If you remember, this black hole was the subject of a historical discovery in space exploration. Scientists managed to take a picture of a black hole for the first time in history. This black hole was also Sagittarius A*.

The black hole, which has a mass of almost 4 million times more than the Sun, came up with a mysterious news today. Astronomers discovered a mass of gas orbiting the black hole very quickly. It was reported that the gas mass rotates clockwise.

It circles the black hole in 70 minutes!

• Image of Sagittarius A* and illustration of newly discovered mass of gas.

The new discovery was also concrete proof that the surroundings of black holes allow for ‘crazy’ events. Astrophysicist Max Planck from the Radio Astronomy Institute in Germany shared the surprising details about the new discovery as follows:

“We think we’re looking at a bubble of hot gas that orbits Sagittarius A* in a similar orbit to that of planet Mercury, but completes a full cycle in about 70 minutes.”

The fact that the gas mass in question revolves around the black hole in just 70 minutes indicates that this structure is moving at 30% of the speed of light. While scientists are yet to reach more details, they plan to remove more question marks with future observations.