Big Isle Observatory: Heart Of The Galaxy Is A Black Hole

Over the past two years, research scientists at the W.M. Keck Observatory have been using the observatory’s highest possible angular resolution to observe the center of the Milky Way.

What these researchers from the Galactic Center Group at UCLA established was that the heart of our galaxy contains a supermassive black hole that is gobbling up gases and creating highly variable emissions of infrared light, said a Keck Observatory release.

The twin Keck telescopes’ laser pointers aimed at our galaxy’s center. Screenshot video image courtesy of Dan Birchall/UCLA Galactic Center Group.

On Tuesday, May 20, Galactic Center Group researcher Leo Ryan will discuss the black hole’s turbulent “feeding” process, which has become an important source for better understanding of the black hole and its immediate environment.

Supported by Rob and Terry Ryan and Keck Observatory’s Rising Stars Fund, the lecture will take place 7 p.m. at Kahilu Theater, Waimea. It’s free and open to the public.