What is at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy?

Answer 1

A Supermassive black hole about a million times larger than our sun.

Answer 2

At the center of our Milky Way Galaxy lies a black hole with over 2 million times the mass of the Sun. Once a controversial claim, this astounding conclusion is now virtually inescapable and based on observations of stars orbiting very near the galactic center. Using one of the Paranal Observatory's very large telescopes and a sophisticated infrared camera, astronomers patiently followed the orbit of a particular star, designated S2, as it came within about 17 light-hours of the center of the Milky Way (about 3 times the radius of Pluto's orbit). Their results convincingly show that S2 is moving under the influence of the enormous gravity of an unseen object that must be extremely compact -- a supermassive black hole. This deep near-infrared image shows the crowded inner 2 light-years of the Milky Way with the exact position of the galactic center indicated by arrows. The ability to track stars so close to the galactic center can accurately measure the black hole's mass and perhaps even provide an unprecedented test of Einstein's theory of gravity as astronomers watch a star orbit a supermassive black hole.

Answer 3

The center of our galaxy is referred to as Sagittarius* (Sagittarius star). In in there may be several black holes and one supermassive one. Lots of x-ray activity from there tells us the black hole is absorbing matter at the present time. Our galactic center can only be observed by radio telescope or x-ray telescope, because the interstellar dust lanes get really thick as you move toward the center of the galaxy and optical telescopes can't penetrate through the haze. The center of our galaxy lies about 80,000 light years (four hundred eighty thousand trillion miles) away.

Answer 4

A super massive black hole resides at the center of our "spiral" galaxy. The spiral shape the Milky Way takes is a result of the black hole's massive power slowly pulling the millions and millions of stars and other bodies inward.

The characteristic "Milky Way" one sees in the night sky is the rest of our relatively planar galaxy...beyond that glow lies the black hole in question.

Answer 5

Well, the sites I just visited all seem to agree. The center of our Universe is a massive Black Hole. Stuff seems to be pulled into it.
At the same time, our Universe is expanding away from it. So
which ever is the right statement must be working about right.
i think it has been working pretty good for the last 1000 years or so.

Answer 6

What is believed to be and what "can" be are two different bees. If a black hole was at the center, then by "theory" we would not be expanding, but contracting as we were slowly pulled into the black hole. So because one or two people say one theory, everybody believes it as gospel. Well my theory is that the center comprises of a lot of stars...lots and lots....and we will never know because we cannot travel there in our life time (another theory ??)

Maybe not a black hole but just the combined gravity of all of the stars in the center???? Why must science be so msterious?

Now back to the logical part...the center of every Milky Way is a soft nuget of chocolate.

Answer 7

Our Galaxy has a bulge of stars at the center, wherein there may lie a giant black hole at the center. The galactic center lies in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.

Answer 8

A very massive black hole...there is believed to be one at the center of all the spiral galaxies.

Answer 9

as a lot as immediately's findings, the midsection of our Milky way galaxy harbors a lengthy-sought black hollow. look into this web site from NASA, that's truly exciting if you're truly into area ^_^

Answer 10

http://www.mpe.mpg.de/ir/GC/index.php
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/astro-ph/pdf/0306/0306130.pdf
http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=8807
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittarius_A%2A

there is a 3.7 million solar mass black hole with an associated accretion disc made form matter falling into it is at the center of the galaxy. it is marked by the radio source known as saggitarius a*. its effects have also been observed in infra-red wavelengths.

this is the kind of question i like, and i would like to have given a more thorough answer.

Answer 11

Astronomers think its one mega black hole surrounded by ancient red stars.

My theory is that this black hole created our galaxay billions of years ago and keeps it a neat spiral rather than an slumped irregular galaxy kept together by its own pull on the objects around it

This black hole, like all others was created by a massive supernova that created the dense neutron star that would soon become a black hole.