[ad_1]
© Provided by CNET
Earth is a bit closer to the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way than we thought. NAOJ
At the center of our galaxy there is a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A *. It has a mass about 4 million times that of our Sun.
Good news! As it turns out, scientists have discovered that we are 2,000 light years closer to Sagittarius A * than we thought.
This does not mean that we are currently on a collision course with a black hole. No, this is simply the result of a more precise model of the Milky Way based on new data.
Video: SpaceX launches satellite from California to monitor sea level (CBS News)
Click to enlarge
-
Trump forgives former national security adviser Michael Flynn
President Trump announced on Wednesday that he was forgiving Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser who has twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia. Ben Tracy has details.
CBS News
-
Trump forgives former national security adviser Michael Flynn
President Trump granted a pardon the day before Thanksgiving to his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge, CBSN political reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns and Washington Post chief correspondent Dan Balz joined “Red and Blue” host Elaine Quijano to discuss forgiveness.
CBS News
-
Doctor recreates what COVID patients see in the moments before they die
In a frightening video, Dr. Kenneth Remy, a researcher at the University of Washington and a physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, recreated what COVID-19 patients see before they die . He hovers over the camera, saying, “I hope the last moment of your life doesn’t look like this.” More than 260,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and Dr Remy urges people to follow guidelines such as wearing masks, practicing social distancing and washing their hands.
CBS News
NEXT
Over the past 15 years, a Japanese radio astronomy project, VERA, has collected data. Using a technique called interferometry, VERA collected data from telescopes across Japan and combined it with data from other existing projects to create what is essentially the most accurate map of the Milky Way to date.
A NAOJ
Earth is a little closer to the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way than we thought.
By locating the location and speed of about 99 specific points in our galaxy, VERA concluded that the supermassive Sagittarius A black hole, at the center of our galaxy, is actually 25,800 light years from Earth – nearly 2,000. light years longer than we previously thought.
In addition, the new model calculates that the Earth is moving faster than we thought. Older models clocked the speed of the Earth at 220 kilometers (136 miles) per second, orbiting the center of the galaxy. VERA’s new model takes us forward at 227 kilometers (141 miles) per second.
Not bad!
VERA now hopes to increase the accuracy of its model by increasing the number of points from which it collects data. By developing EAVN (East Asian VLBI Network) and collecting data from a larger suite of radio telescopes located across Japan, Korea and China
[ad_2]
Source link