Mysterious object at the centre of the Milky Way may be a new STAR: Experts discount claims G2 phenomenon is a cloud 

  • University of Cologne scientists say G2 cloud is actually a star
  • The object was found orbiting the Milky Way's core in 2002
  • It was thought to be a cloud of gas orbiting the supermassive black hole
  • But the team says it is too compact to be a cloud of gas
  • Studying the object could reveal how black holes 'feed' on material 
By JONATHAN O'CALLAGHAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 07:55 EST, 27 March 2015 | UPDATED: 08:32 EST, 27 March 2015
Towards the centre of our galaxy there is a strange object known as G2 that is drifting around the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole.
The origins of this 'cloud' have remained somewhat a mystery and now a new theory has been proposed - the cloud is actually a star.
New observations suggest it is too compact to be a clump of gas, and instead its more likely to be a stellar object.
University of Cologne scientists say G2 cloud is actually a star. The object was found orbiting the Milky Way's core in 2002. This composite image shows the motion of the dusty cloud G2 as it closes in on, and then passes, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way - and it remains compact, like a star
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University of Cologne scientists say G2 cloud is actually a star. The object was found orbiting the Milky Way's core in 2002. This composite image shows the motion of the dusty cloud G2 as it closes in on, and then passes, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way - and it remains compact, like a star
The new theory was proposed by scientists from the University of Cologne in Germany andpublished in the Astrophysical Journal.
G2 has fascinated astronomers since it was first found in 2002 because it is not obvious where it has come from.

WHY IS G2 SO IMPORTANT TO ASTRONOMERS?

Sagittarius A* lurks 26,000 light years away in the Milky Way's innermost region.
For a black hole, it is very dim - about a billion times fainter than others of its supermassive types - making it something of a mystery.
Black holes eat matter from their surroundings and blow matter back. The way they do that influences the evolution of the entire galaxy.
Its interaction with the gas clouds G1 and G2 will give astronomers a unique opportunity to see how faint supermassive black holes 'feed'.
They hope to understand these black holes don't consume matter in the same way as their brighter counterparts in other galaxies.
The findings could shed light on how stars are formed, how the galaxy grows and how it interacts with other galaxies. 
Studying it could help scientists understand how supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies draw in material and ‘feed’.
Observations had suggested G2 was stretched, like a cloud - and may even have a companion, dubbed G1.
But according to the team, the latest observations show that G2 remained intact as it made a recent close pass to the black hole.
If it had been a cloud, it would have been spread apart by the black hole’s intense gravity.
‘For us, everything points at it being a young star,’ Dr Andreas Eckart, a co-author on the paper, told Space.com.
Before 2014, the cloud was moving away from us, but now it is moving towards Earth - increasing in speed from 6.2 million to 7.4 million mph (10 million to 12 million km/h).
‘We don't see any stretching of the cloud that was claimed previously,’ Dr Eckart said.
‘We get a much more coherent picture of a single object.’
Other experts, though, have suggested the team is not observing the whole object, and thus is missing some of its features.
G2 has fascinated astronomers since it was first found in 2002 because it is not obvious where it has come from. Studying it could help scientists understand how supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies (illustrated) draw in material and ‘feed’
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G2 has fascinated astronomers since it was first found in 2002 because it is not obvious where it has come from. Studying it could help scientists understand how supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies (illustrated) draw in material and ‘feed’
Observations had suggested G2 was stretched, like a cloud (illustrated)
But according to the team, the latest observations show that G2 remained intact as it made a recent close pass to the black hole - suggesting it is a star (illustrated)
Now debate will rage on whether G2 is a cloud of gas (illustrated left) or a star (illustrated right). Observations had suggested G2 was stretched, like a cloud. But according to the team, the latest observations show that G2 remained intact as it made a recent close pass to the black hole - suggesting it is a star
'Our basic idea is that G1 and G2 might be clumps of the same gas streamer,’ Dr Oliver Pfuhl of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics said in December.
'In this case, we should be able to simultaneously fit both data sets and, indeed, our model captures the G1 and G2 orbits remarkably well.'
If they are clouds, the likely source for both G1 and G2 could be clumps in the wind of one of the massive disk stars, which could have been ejected some 100 years ago.
Whatever they turn out to be, the answer could reveal a fascinating insight into some of the goings on near the black hole at the Milky Way's core.
 

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Never fails to amaze me at how much they can figure out from a speck of light you can't even see without billions of quids worth of tackle.
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"c-love888" do you realise how stupid and ignorant your comment is? Your denial of science and ignorance of the scientific method is laughable and sad. Yet you happily use a computer and the Internet which would not have been possible but for science and scientists understanding the basic physics of our Universe
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OMG it's hurtling towards earth at 7,400,000 mph we'll be doomed in 20,654,188,522 years time
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A big cloud of gas. A bit like the G8 then.
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Pretty incredible stuff. Amazing, and lucky, that we CAN observe the actual center of the galaxy, and see stars rotating about. Incredible.
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Looks like a fancy goldfish!
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Funny how people call it science, its nature isn't it? Science has tried to control nature for centuries, nature will always have her way and create what it wants..even if that is destruction of us all. but more than this is creates all that is too, including science.
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It's "nature" until we understand it, then it's "science".
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Another incredibly ignorant comment, next he'll be saying he thinks the world is flat.
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Probably the only "new star" that is not on Simon Cowell's payroll
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No clue what it is but they all know the big bang, billions of billion of years ago mumbo jumbo. Talk about taking people for a idiots. This calls for true BLIND faith to accept all this nonsense.
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So you were there were you mutal, when your God created it all? What were you in your previous life, because whatever it was, your second reincarnation has come out all wrong.
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Some ignorant comments here! Remember that the 'Big Bang' theory was actually first put forward by a Catholic Priest in 1927 - Monsignor Georges Lemaitre, Professor of Physics at the Catholic University of Louvain. His theory is accepted by the Catholic Church, most Christians and most scientists - of all faiths and none.
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Science....I love it
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It's our raison d'etre. No need to invoke any supernatural beings..
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