When you buy through links on our site , we may pull in an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it works .
In the summer of 2014 , astronomer watched with woozy anticipation as a cloud of gas , known as G2 , drop hazardously secretive to a supermassive dark hole at the center of theMilky Way . Spark did n’t fly , nor did a eating frenzy ensue . Instead , G2 zipped by unharmed , surviving what astronomers call back would be a dear - death experience .
Butblack holesare big bully , so the fact that the solemnity well ignore the gassy passerby was more than surprising . It seemed impossible . Now , stargazer are say that the supermassive black hollow in the center of our coltsfoot is not a black hole at all , but rather a downlike ball ofdark subject . fresh research suggests this strange surmisal is able to account for the " out of the question " encounter as well as all observations of the galactic center — and then some .
This artist’s impression video shows the path of the star S2 as it passes very close to the supermassive “black hole” at the center of the Milky Way.
Related : The 11 biggest unreciprocated question about dismal thing
Icarus and the black hole
Astronomers have long thought that at the very core of the Milky Way , known as Sagittarius A * , sits a supermassive bleak hole . Of naturally , they ca n’t see the black maw itself , because it does n’t give off any light of its own . Instead , they infer its existence by watching the movement of a cluster of star known as the S - ace . The S - stars orbit around a hidden , unseen cardinal object , and by charting their orbits over the years , astronomers candeducethe mass and size of that central object .
The most likely prospect for that hide out central object is , of course , a black hole , with an estimated raft more than 4 million times that of the sun . But the S - stars are n’t the only matter to hang around our astronomical downtown . Clumps of gas also lurk there , and one in picky , dubbed G2 , draw particular attention . Soon after stargazer discovered the clump tenner ago , they realize that the orbit of G2 would get it perilously unaired to the opprobrious cakehole — close enough that the intense gravity of the black hole should rupture that petrol cloud apart .
But after the closest advance of G2 to the ignominious hole in 2014 — when it passed just 260 AU from the colossus — the gas come along to outlast completely integral .
Related : The 12 strangest objects in the world
Make it fluffier
The most plausible account for the survival of the fittest of G2 is that it ’s more than just an ordinary gas swarm . Its hidden major power ? A star or two could be tucked inside the cloud , and the somberness of that star keep the whole structure intact during its passage near the black hole .
But there ’s another , more basal explanation : Perhaps , the supermassive black fix is n’t really a pitch-black hole . Perhaps , it ’s a fuzzy bunch of dark-skinned matter .
Dark matter is the name astronomers give to an unseeable content that makes up more than 80 % of the volume of the universe . It does n’t look to interact with light — it does n’t shine , or absorb , reflect or refract light source — and so it remains invisible to us . But it makes its presence known through its solemnity . Multiple , autonomous demarcation of notice have all reassert that most of the mass of the cosmos is this invisible dismal matter .
One theory for the identity of dark topic indicate that it ’s made of an alien , previously nameless mote , called " darkinos " . According to the theory , the darkino is a type of corpuscle do it as a fermion . Electrons , protons , quark andneutrinosare also fermion , whose fundamental defining characteristic is that they ca n’t share the same state . In other words , you may outfit only so many fermions into a given volume ( this is in contrast to the boson , which you may shove as many as you need into a given bulk ) .
Related:7 unusual fact about quark cheese
If dark issue is made of darkinos , and darkinos are fermions , then these dark matter particles would concentrate in the core of a Galax urceolata only to a sure degree . This would think of that or else of a supermassive black jam , with a crisply defined edge at the case celestial horizon , there is instead a gigantic ball of densely pack darkinos . The border of this darkino formal would be pretty foggy — like partygoer hold back in line outside the local disco , not all of them can join the political party at the very center .
Keep it consistent
Since the giant darkino egg would be muzzy , the gravitative forces at the center of the coltsfoot would be a little morsel modest , allowing for gas clouds like G2 to hold up in their eye socket .
But there ’s more to the center of our galaxy — and more to our observance of the galactic core — than G2 . There are also all those sec - asterisk . Any radical theory that hopes to put back a supermassive pitch-dark hole with something else must make predictions that match those observations .
— The 15 unearthly galaxy in our cosmos
— 5 reasons we may live in a multiverse
— The 18 heavy unresolved mysteries in physics
And that ’s exactly what a new study shows . The team of astrophysicist , head by Eduar Antonio Becerra - Vergara of the International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics in Italy , found that if they replaced the supermassive black pickle with a ball of darkinos , and those darkino atom had the right mass and speed , they could double all the mention motion of the S - hotshot . In some cases , their theoretical account could do even better than the vanilla extract dim hole calculations at play off the observed orbits .
But that result does n’t mean much . The black hole model is exceedingly simple : You just need to plug in two numbers , the black hole mass and twisting , to auspicate how the S - star should bear . But the darkino model has many more parameters , allowing for more fine - tuning , and the researchers found the good possible combining of darkino properties .
The key mental testing will come up with future observation . If the dark matter is made up of darkinos , then a model that successfully describes what ’s happening at the galactic plaza should also replicate all the variety of dark matter observations across the creation . That would include explaining why beetleweed birl quicker than they should for their know masses .
The new research is detail in the May issue of the diary Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters .
in the first place published on Live Science .
