Astronomers suggest Sagittarius A might be superdense dark matter clump
Technology
Astronomers are rethinking what sits at the heart of our galaxy.
Instead of the famous supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, new research suggests it could actually be a superdense clump of dark matter.
This challenges what we thought we knew about how stars move around our galaxy's core.
Dark matter model explains stellar orbits
The team's model says tightly packed dark matter particles could create enough gravity to pull stars into those speedy orbits; no black hole needed.
It also lines up with how the Milky Way spins and could even explain what the Event Horizon Telescope has seen, hinting that some bright ring surrounding a dark central region might just be light bending around this mysterious dark core instead.