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This Mysterious Object Survived a Face-Off with a Black Hole

What do we say to death by black hole? Not today.
​VLT images of G2 at peribothron. Credit: ESO/A. Eckart

Strange things are afoot at the Milky Way's galactic center, and astronomers are watching the drama unfold.

New images released today by the European Southern Observatory reveal that against all odds, a gigantic dust cloud known as G2 has survived its closest approach with our galaxy's supermassive black hole—which suggests it might be more than a simple dust cloud. These images were taken with the ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, and they provide the most detailed look at G2 ever produced.

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VLT images of G2 at peribothron. Credit: ESO/A. Eckart

It turns out that G2 has emerged from its encounter not only intact, but barely fazed.

This is definitely not what astronomers expected to happen. When G2 was first identified as a gas cloud in 2011, it was taken for granted that the galactic core would rip it to shreds when it reached peribothron—the term for an object's closest approach with a black hole.

Multiple research teams were assembled to watch the carnage unfold over the summer of 2014. There were expectations of cosmic "fireworks" erupting as G2 was consumed by the ravenous core, and anticipation about capturing the first approach of what was considered a "doomed" gas cloud.

"The idea of an astronaut close to a black hole being stretched out to resemble spaghetti is familiar from science fiction," physicist Stefan Gillessen said in a 2011 ESO statement. "But we can now see this happening for real to the newly discovered cloud."

"It is not going to survive the experience," he added.

A video sequence of G2 passing the supermassive black hole. Credit: ESO/A. Eckart

But like a celestial version of Gloria Gaynor, G2 resolved to survive. When it re-emerged from its daring dance with death in November 2014, it surprised pretty much every observer. The ESO photos released today confirm that the cloud barely broke a sweat at peribothron, suggesting that it may not be a gas cloud at all.

"We looked at all the recent data and in particular the period in 2014 when the closest approach to the black hole took place," said astronomer Andreas Eckart, who led the team that captured the new images, in a statement.

"We cannot confirm any significant stretching of the source," he continued. "It certainly does not behave like a coreless dust cloud. We think it must be a dust-shrouded young star."

Some astronomers have gone so far as to suggest G2 was a binary star system that was merged into a single star by the black hole's powerful tidal forces. It won't be clear just what this orbital daredevil at the center of the galaxy is until more observations are made of its baffling behavior.

Whatever G2 is, it is tough and compact enough to have stood up to a black hole that is 4.5 million times larger than the Sun, astonishing seasoned experts in the process. It seems likely that it will deliver a few more surprises before scientists find a way to pull back its dusty veil to reveal its true identity.