A new visualization, “Galactic Center VR,” features simulations of material streaming toward the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. Experience the last 500 years of cosmic evolution in this area in a free virtual reality program.
This free program is based on data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes, combined with supercomputer simulations and virtual reality. Our Galaxy’s 4-million-solar-mass black hole is being fed by material from winds being blown off hot massive stars. Watch as some of this material is captured by the black hole’s gravity and plummets toward it. The simulation’s X-ray emission from hot gas due to the supersonic wind collisions observed by Chandra is shown in blue and cyan. Other colors represent different objects and phenomena including the massive stars in the region and cooler material. The visualization spans the full simulation size, which covers about 3 light years, or about 18 trillion miles.
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