A supermassive black hole is hidden in the center of the Milky Way galaxy. We already know that these objects with great pleasure will have dinner with a star flying past. But is there a threat to the solar system?
To begin with, the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A * is 4.1 million times the solar massiveness. It is located in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius and is 26,000 light-years distant from us. During feeding, the star increases its massiveness and requires new victims. So it's time to pack your bags and fly as far as possible?
Well, if you do not plan to live another 4 billion years, you can breathe easy. If you decide to use cryo-freezing or put the mind into the body of the robot, then you need to examine the issue of future security.
Objects of the center of the Milky Way
Back in the 1970s astronomers began to suspect that in the center of the Milky Way there is an intense source of radio-rays. He was called Sagittarius A *. Studies in 2002 confirmed that most likely we are dealing with a supermassive black hole, and such objects are hiding in the centers of almost all galaxies.
However, black holes are active and inactive. When black holes stably absorb material, they begin to glow brightly and move into the category of quasars. The object in our galaxy remains rather passive. But what if Sagittarius A * becomes a quasar?
Image of the area around the center of the Milky Way
Scientists believe that even in this case, we remain safe due to a distance of 26,000 light years. It is important to understand that the black hole does not act as a space vacuum cleaner. It is rather a gravitational anchor that binds to itself a group of nearby stars. They can rotate around a supermassive black hole for billions of years and will become food only if they go astray and come closer (they step over the event horizon).
It turns out that in the short term, our supermassive black hole is considered harmless to the solar system. However, the situation may change in 4 billion years, when the Milky Way will collide with the Andromeda galaxy.
Such a view of the night sky will be seen in a few billion years.
We will immediately have two clouds of stars that will begin to contact with each other. Many researchers believe that there is no danger, because there are large distances between the stars, and they will not touch each other. But in reality it is difficult to predict what will happen in reality.
Recall that a supermassive black hole in the center of the Andromeda galaxy is 140 million times the solar mass. Therefore, a huge number of stars will go to feed during the collision. It is also believed that a merger of two supermassive black holes will arise, which will create an even more huge and already active object. The future of the solar system is presented in three versions:
- The solar system will change its location, but will remain intact.
- The solar system, under the influence of gravity, will be ejected from its own galaxy and will be in intergalactic space.
- The solar system will go to feed a huge supermassive black hole (or the Sun will collide with another star).
But before you think about this crisis, you need to take care of a more pressing problem. The process of merging galaxies will stretch for a huge period of time, while the Sun, before being transformed into a red giant, has 5-6 billion years left.
In fact, we first need to learn how to colonize distant planets in or outside the native system. If we are able to preserve the human species by the time of the formation of a huge supermassive black hole, then we can begin to think about the plan of salvation (if you need it). But in the next billions of years to worry is not necessary, since Sagittarius A * is not going to include the sun in the menu.
