Q&A: Black Holes
Q:
I read on the CNN site that Chandra's instruments had taken a
look at the "supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky
Way galaxy." I thought that a black hole at the center of our
galaxy was still a theory, when was it established as
fact?
A:
The evidence for a black hole in the center of our galaxy is
very strong. Stars and gas clouds are observed to be moving
rapidly around a dark object that has the mass equivalent to
about 3 million suns. The only known object that could have so
much mass and still be dark is a black hole. So, unless
Einstein's theory of gravity breaks down, our galactic center
must contain a black hole.
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