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You are here: Home / Space / What Is the Center Of the Milky Way Made Of and How Do We Know That It Is a Supermassive Black Hole?

What Is the Center Of the Milky Way Made Of and How Do We Know That It Is a Supermassive Black Hole?

August 1, 2020 by Karen Hill

The nuclear bulge of the Milky Way cannot be seen clearly from Earth.

Using the Andromeda Galaxy as a visual guide to our own, we believe that the nuclear bulge is a collection of star clusters and clouds of dust and gas.

The detection of gamma ray, X ray, infrared, and radio waves gives us more information.

Something in the nuclear bulge emits powerful radio waves; huge streams of very hot gas shoot out from the center.

Some astronomers believe that a supermassive black hole exists at the Milky Way’s center, even though we don’t have the instruments or knowledge yet to be 100% certain of what is in the middle of this swirling galaxy.

Astronomers are confident that the Milky Way galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center, in a region called Sagittarius A, because the only known object which can pack 4.1 million solar masses into a volume that small is a black hole.

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  • Which Way Is the Milky Way Galaxy Moving and How Long Does It Take For the Milky Way To Rotate?
  • What Is a Black Hole, How Are Black Holes Created, and What Would Happen If You Fell Into a Black Hole?
  • What Does the Milky Way Look Like and Where Is Our Solar System Located In the Milky Way Galaxy?
  • Why Is a Black Hole Black, Where Do Black Holes Come From, and When Were Black Holes First Discovered?
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  • How Do Stars Become Black Holes and When Was the First Black Hole Discovered?
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  • What Is a Galaxy, What Are Galaxies Made Of, and Do Galaxies Have Black Holes At the Center?
  • What Is the Center Of the Moon Made Of and How Do We Know If the Moon's Core Is Molten Or Solid?
  • What Is the Ozone Hole, What Caused the Ozone Hole, and What Are the Consequences Of Ozone Layer Depletion?
  • What does the expression "to be in a hole" come from and What does in a hole mean?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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