Virtual Trip to Our Galaxy's Center Offered by New Visual Simulation

© ESO/L. Calçadaartist impression of the surroundings of a supermassive black hole
artist impression of the surroundings of a supermassive black hole - Sputnik International
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The visualization in question displays about three light-years of space centered on Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole that lies at the center of our galaxy.

Those wishing to know more about what wonders the center of our galaxy holds will now be able to satisfy their curiosity thanks to a new visualization called “Galactic Center VR”, based on the data supplied by telescopes such as NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, space.com reports.

According to the media outlet, this creation essentially allows viewers to witness some 500 years of evolution at Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole located in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, whose visualization was based on modeling from the objects known as  Wolf-Rayet stars, as the outer layers of material they periodically shed gets picked up by Sgr A* gravity.

"When the winds from the Wolf-Rayet stars collide, the material is heated to millions of degrees by shocks — similar to sonic booms — and produce copious amounts of X-rays," NASA explained. "The center of the galaxy is too distant for Chandra to detect individual examples of these collisions, but the overall X-ray glow of this hot gas is detectable with Chandra's sharp X-ray vision."

The visualization displays about three light-years of space centered on Sgr A*, and viewers can move the simulation in different directions and tinker with its aspects, the media outlet adds.

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