Sagittarius A*

black holes · space mysteries · galaxy center · astronomy

The galactic heart. Sagittarius A* sits right at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, billions of miles away from Earth. It's the invisible anchor that holds our entire galaxy together with its powerful gravity.

Supermassive monster. This black hole is so enormous that it has the mass of about 4 million suns squeezed into a space smaller than Earth's orbit. When something falls into it, not even light can escape.

Bright radio beacon. Even though black holes are invisible, Sagittarius A* glows brightly in radio waves that astronomers can detect from Earth. We can see it best through radio telescopes rather than regular ones.

Located near Sagittarius. When you look at the night sky from Earth, Sagittarius A* is invisible to your eyes, but it sits near the constellation Sagittarius, close to the border with Scorpius. It's hidden behind dust and gas clouds between us and the galaxy center.

Galaxy anchor point. All the stars, planets, and dust in the Milky Way orbit around Sagittarius A*. Its tremendous gravity keeps billions of stars in their paths around the galaxy.