Chapter 1
The invisible anchor at the center
Chapter 2
Taking the first picture of a monster
Chapter 3
Extreme physics in the danger zone
Chapter 4
The past and future of our black hole
YOUR GOAL
Master of Discovering Sagittarius A*
Ch 1 · The invisible anchor at the center
artiteacher Sagittarius A* Black Hole
At our Milky Way's core, yeah-eah! Sits Sgr A*, oh-oh! Four million Suns, so vast and bright, yeah-eah! Now its event horizon's in plain sight, oh-oh!
artiteacher By studying stellar orbits, scientists calculated that Sagittarius A* is four million times heavier than our Sun.
artiteacher Astronomers proved the black hole's existence by tracking stars orbiting an invisible object at blistering speeds.
BETA
artiteacher Sling stars into orbit to discover how Sagittarius A* anchors our galaxy.
Fun Fact
Sgr A* name: The asterisk in Sagittarius A* was inspired by chemistry, where an asterisk denotes an excited atom.
Quiz
What percentage of the speed of light does the star S-2 reach at its closest approach to Sagittarius A*?
Quiz
The diameter of Sagittarius A* would easily fit inside the orbit of which planet?
Quiz
For what discovery did Andrea Ghez and Reinhard Genzel win the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics?