Elongated Item Seen by Scientists Near Milky Way's Core Black Hole

An elongated object that is near the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy is of interest to scientists since it has experienced a rapid and dramatic evolution.

Scientists led by University of California, Los Angeles (ULCA) astronomer Anna Ciurlo have discovered a huge change in the shape of the X7, expanding to over double its original length, by examining 20 years' worth of observations.

The weird blob is most likely formed of debris or a cloud of gas and dust released by a recent collision between two stars, according to the shift in structure suggested by the object.

"No other object in this region has shown such an extreme evolution," said Anna Ciurlo, the research paper's lead author.

"It started off comet-shaped, and people thought maybe it got that shape from stellar winds or jets of particles from the black hole. But as we followed it for 20 years, we saw it become more elongated. Something must have put this cloud on its particular path with its particular orientation."

According to the study, X7 has a mass of about 50 Earths and is on an orbital path around Sgr A* that would take 170 years to complete. But that might never happen. Based on its trajectory, the team estimates that X7 will make its closest approach to Sgr A* around the year 2036, and then likely spiral towards Sgr A* and disappear.

"We anticipate the strong tidal forces exerted by the galactic black hole will ultimately tear X7 apart before it completes even one orbit," said co-author Mark Morris, a UCLA professor of physics and astronomy.