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| Black hole confirmed in Milky Way | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed. | There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a study has confirmed. |
| German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile. | German astronomers tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile. |
| The black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal. | |
| Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them. | Black holes are objects whose gravity is so great that nothing - including light - can escape them. |
| According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit. | According to Dr Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit. |
| 'The black pearl' | 'The black pearl' |
| Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies. | Dr Massey said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies. |
| The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist Professor Reinhard GenzelHead of the research team | The most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do exist Professor Reinhard GenzelHead of the research team |
| "They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form. | "They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form. |
| "Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence". | "Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence". |
| The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth. | The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth. |
| "Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team. | "Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team. |
| "The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt." | "The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt." |
| Observations were made using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 8.2m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Both are operated by the European Southern Observatory (Eso). |