--- title: "The Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole Just Did Something Wild" description: "Astronomers just observed the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way called Sagittarius A* flare up growing 75 times brighter than usual over a two hour span. That’s particularly noteworthy since it usually is not very active and doesn’t fluctuate in brightness much. “I was pretty surprised at first and then very […]" date: "2019-08-12" modified: "2019-08-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/milky-way-supermassive-black-hole-bright" categories: - "Astrophysics" - "Black Holes" - "Science & Energy" - "Space" tags: - "black hole" - "milky way" - "Sagittarius A*" - "Supermassive Black Hole" - "the digest" --- # The Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole Just Did Something Wild ![Astronomers observed the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way called Sagittarius A\* flare up growing 75 times brighter than usual.]() *\Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\* ## Bright Flare The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A\*, grew 75 times brighter than usual over a two hour span — a flabbergasting cosmic event, since it's usually not very active and doesn't fluctuate much in brightness. "I was pretty surprised at first and then very excited," astronomer Tuan Do of the University of California Los Angeles [told *ScienceAlert*](). "The black hole was so bright I at first mistook it for the star S0-2, because I had never seen Sgr A\* that bright." https://twitter.com/quantumpenguin/status/1160368687590727680 ## Swallowing Stars The team of astronomers led by Do used data gathered by the W. M. Keck Observatory near the summit of Maunakea in Hawaii. Their observations, dating back to May of this year, [were published]() in the *The Astrophysical Journal Letters* this month. The flare up could have been caused by a nearby object being swallowed up by Sagittarius A\* — an "accretion" event, as astronomers call it. One possible victim: star S0-2, which orbits the black hole once every 16 years, could have had parts of it vacuumed up by the black hole, which could have "changed the way gas flows into the black hole, and so more gas is falling on it, leading it to become more variable," Do told *ScienceAlert*. **READ MORE:** [Our Galaxy's Supermassive Black Hole Has Emitted a Mysteriously Bright Flare]() \[*ScienceAlert*\] **More on Sagittarius A\*:** *[Here’s the Best-Ever Image of the Black Hole Devouring Our Galaxy]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()