Sagittarius A* is a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, with an event horizon estimated to be 6.25 light-hours wide. It is orbited by at least a dozen stars and possibly an intermediate-mass black hole. Falling into a black hole would not be enjoyable.
Sagittarius A* (pronounced “A-star”) is a region in the center of our galaxy, about as wide as the orbit of Pluto, containing 3.7 million solar masses of material. Located near the galactic center, astronomers suspect Sagittarius A* to be a supermassive black hole, serving as the center of gravity for the entire galaxy. Sagittarius A* is closely orbited by at least a dozen stars, the trajectories of which have been used to estimate its mass. It could also be orbited by the first observed intermediate-mass black hole, GCIRS 13E, which is estimated at 1,300 solar masses.
As a black hole’s mass increases, the radius of its event horizon increases linearly, but the density decreases with the cube of the radius. So while black holes like Sagittarius A* are very massive, when you count the huge area of the event horizon, estimated to be 6.25 light-hours (45 AU) or about 4.2 billion miles, the hole’s average density is not greater than that of the air! Stellar-mass black holes have much higher densities behind their event horizon.
Sagittarius A* is located about 25,000 light-years away, or half a galactic radius, at the center of the galaxy. It probably formed early in the history of the galaxy. We observe supermassive black holes like Sagittarius A* in the process of forming in other very distant galaxies. These phenomena are called quasars and blazars.
Because the central singularity in a supermassive black hole is so far from the event horizon, an astronaut falling into it wouldn’t experience spaghettification until deep inside the hole. The interior of a black hole would be an odd place: With light orbiting the hole at a high speed, you’d be constantly treated to a repetitive blur of objects in its grasp. The light from the outside would first appear to be just a hemisphere, with darkness all behind it, then the hemisphere would progressively get smaller, becoming a small circle and finally a point. Falling into a black hole wouldn’t be fun!
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
