What did Immanuel Kant write about the center of the Milky Way galaxy in 1755?
Immanuel Kant wrote that a large star sat at the center of the Milky Way galaxy and suggested Sirius might be that central star. He lacked proof for this suggestion.
Questions about Galactic Center
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When was Sagittarius A adopted as the zero coordinate point for galactic latitude and longitude?
The International Astronomical Union adopted Sagittarius A as the true zero coordinate point for galactic latitude and longitude in 1958. This decision followed work by Joseph Lade Pawsey and his team from CSIRO who identified it as an intense radio source at the very center of the Galaxy.
How far is the Galactic Center from the Solar System according to estimates since 2000?
Estimates since 2000 place the distance between the Solar System and the Galactic Center within a range of roughly 7.6 to 8.3 kiloparsecs. Geometric-based methods and standard candles yield these distances while variable stars complicate accurate determination due to ambiguous reddening laws.
What happened on the 5th of January 2015 regarding Sagittarius A*?
NASA reported observing an X-ray flare 400 times brighter than usual on the 5th of January 2015. The unusual event may have been caused by the breaking apart of an asteroid falling into the black hole or magnetic field lines becoming entangled near Sagittarius A.
When were the Fermi bubbles first seen in visible light?
The lobes known as the Fermi bubbles were seen in visible light for the first time in 2020. Optical measurements confirmed their presence and shape after prior observations had been hampered by the galaxy's diffuse gamma-ray fog.