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Over the last few years the Chandra has
detected X-ray flares coming from Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) at a rate
of about one a day. This is the supermassive black hole at the
center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Each flare can last hours and
increase Sgr A*’s X-ray brightness by up to a hundred times. The
conclusion is that supermassive
black hole could be vaporizing and consuming asteroids.
The researcher think that there exists a cloud
of trillions of asteroids and comets around Sgr A*. They could have
been stripped from their parent stars. Any asteroids coming within 1
AU of the black hole would be ripped apart tidal forces. The
fragments would subsequently vaporize while passing through the hot
gas normally flowing onto the black hole. This flare itself is a
result of this material from the asteroid being swallowed by the
black hole. Estimate are that the observed flares consume an
asteroids that is least 6 miles across. |
