[Illustration Credit: ESO/MPE/Marc Schartmann]
Very cool. Thanks for posting, I love these pics.
They infer their orbits using an inferometer, right?
Two things, one is black holes don’t “suck in” anything. They have exactly the same mass as their components. Yes, gravity has compressed them to the point that at their surface light gets bent back in, but you can safely orbit a black hole with no trouble.
Second, for an astronomy article, this one misses a big point: This gas cloud had its encounter with the Milky Way singularity some 50,000 years ago. We’re just lucky in that we happen to be in a position technologically to see the sequence after the fact, since the photons that reflect this event are just now reaching us. /pedantic
” Once it falls in, nothing is expected to be heard from the doomed gas ever again.”
But will you be able to smell it? (Sorry - couldn’t help myself)
Diner - as in a place which serves food, as opposed to one who dines, reminded me of Millaways - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series. (Don’t Panic)