Strange objects discovered at the center of the Milky Way

Astronomers have found six objects orbiting the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* at the center of the Milky Way, with appearances and characteristics unlike anything seen before.

Astronomers named these "freaky" objects G .

Simulation of G-objects around a supermassive black hole.

The two original objects, G1 and G2 , were first observed by astronomers nearly two decades ago. The pair have strange orbits and properties. After extensive observation, researchers discovered that they are likely giant clouds of gas, spanning about 100 astronomical units (the distance from the sun to the Earth is considered one astronomical unit). The extent of the gas clouds almost reaches the edge of the black hole.

However, G1 and G2 do not behave like gas clouds, but more like stars, as physicist and astronomer Andrea Ghez of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) explained in 2020, according to Science Alert on June 24.

Ghez and his colleagues have been studying the center of the Milky Way for more than 20 years. Based on this data, the team of astronomers led by UCLA expert Anna Ciurlo discovered four more similar objects, namely G3, G4, G5 and G6 .

The newly identified group of four objects are moving on different orbits than G1 and G2. Together, the G objects have orbits that last between 170 and 1,600 years, according to a report in the journal Nature .

Until now, it is still unclear what they are, and why they can exist in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* without being swallowed by this "monster" .