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The black hole in the center of the Milky Way has become more active — astronomers
The black hole, Sagittarius A*, located in the center of the Milky Way, behaves relatively quietly. But the brightness of the center of the galaxy fluctuates throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, and the frequency of active X-ray bursts increases.
A study of the activity of a black hole in the center of the Milky Way was published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics and posted on arXiv for review. The results confirm the data of earlier studies, during which a growing activity of Sagittarius A* was discovered.
In particular, a group of French and Belgian researchers led by astrophysicist Enmanuel Mossou of the University of Liège in Belgium continued to work on a 2017 study that found that the frequency of bright flashes increased threefold from August 31, 2014.
In an earlier work (also co-authored with Mossu), X-rays emanating from a black hole were studied. Data was collected from 1999 to 2015. A total of 107 outbreaks were detected. Not only did bright x-ray flashes begin to occur more often after August 2014, the intensity of weak flashes also decreased — from August 2013.
To find out whether these trends persisted, Mossou and his colleagues analyzed data from three telescopes from 2016 to 2018. They found 14 more outbreaks in addition to the well-known 107 — a total of 121.
Mossu analyzed the data of the Swift telescope for 2019 and found four bright flashes — the largest number in one campaign. This confirms that the black hole does not calm down. Soon, data for 2019 from two other telescopes will be available, which will also be studied.
A study of the activity of a black hole in the center of the Milky Way was published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics and posted on arXiv for review. The results confirm the data of earlier studies, during which a growing activity of Sagittarius A* was discovered.
In particular, a group of French and Belgian researchers led by astrophysicist Enmanuel Mossou of the University of Liège in Belgium continued to work on a 2017 study that found that the frequency of bright flashes increased threefold from August 31, 2014.
In an earlier work (also co-authored with Mossu), X-rays emanating from a black hole were studied. Data was collected from 1999 to 2015. A total of 107 outbreaks were detected. Not only did bright x-ray flashes begin to occur more often after August 2014, the intensity of weak flashes also decreased — from August 2013.
To find out whether these trends persisted, Mossou and his colleagues analyzed data from three telescopes from 2016 to 2018. They found 14 more outbreaks in addition to the well-known 107 — a total of 121.
Mossu analyzed the data of the Swift telescope for 2019 and found four bright flashes — the largest number in one campaign. This confirms that the black hole does not calm down. Soon, data for 2019 from two other telescopes will be available, which will also be studied.