Neuer Blick auf die Sterne rund um das Zentrum der Milchstraße
Das heutige Bild der Woche präsentiert einen neuen Blick auf das Herz unserer Milchstraße. Diese atemberaubende Aufnahme, die mit dem Very Large Telescope (VLT) der ESO aufgenommen wurde, zeigt die Sterne und das Gas, die einen unsichtbaren Riesen umgeben – ein supermassereiches Schwarzes Loch, das etwa 27.000 Lichtjahre entfernt ist. Es handelt sich um eine äußerst dynamische Umgebung, in der Sterne und Gaswolken mit dramatischer Geschwindigkeit am Schwarzen Loch vorbeirasen.
Ein Team von Astronom*innen am Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik in Deutschland hat eine neue Gaswolke namens G2t entdeckt, die das supermassereiche Schwarze Loch umkreist. Zwei Gaswolken, G1 und G2, waren bereits bekannt, aber ihre Beschaffenheit und Herkunft waren noch umstritten. Insbesondere war unklar, ob diese Wolken einen Stern in ihrem Inneren verbargen oder ausschließlich aus Gas bestanden. Die Entdeckung einer dritten Gaswolke hilft nun, diese Fragen zu beantworten.
Die Beobachtungen wurden mit dem Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph (ERIS) durchgeführt, einem Instrument am VLT der ESO, das nicht nur Bilder wie das in diesem Bild der Woche aufnehmen kann, sondern auch Spektren. Dank dieses Instruments konnten die Astronom*innen die 3D-Bahnen der Wolken um das Schwarze Loch herum messen. Die Wolken bewegen sich innerhalb eines sehr kleinen Bereichs in der Mitte dieses Weitwinkelbildes. Es zeigte sich, dass G1, G2 und G2t tatsächlich fast identische Umlaufbahnen haben, die nur geringfügig zueinander gedreht sind. Dies schließt die Möglichkeit aus, dass jede Wolke einen Stern in ihrem Kern verbirgt, da die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass verschiedene Sterne fast identische Umlaufbahnen haben, sehr gering ist. Die Ähnlichkeit der Umlaufbahnen deutet darauf hin, dass die drei Wolken wahrscheinlich denselben Ursprung haben, höchstwahrscheinlich IRS16SW, ein Paar massereicher Sterne, die eine enorme Menge an Gas ausstoßen. Während sich IRS16SW um das Schwarze Loch bewegt, wird jede Gaswolke in einer leicht unterschiedlichen Umlaufbahn ausgestoßen, was die kleinen Unterschiede in den Flugbahnen des „G-Tripletts” erklärt.
Diese Entdeckung zeigt, dass trotz jahrzehntelanger Beobachtung des Zentrums unserer Milchstraße immer noch neue, unbeantwortete Fragen auftauchen. Aber was könnte spannender sein als Geheimnisse, die darauf warten, gelöst zu werden?
Links
Bildnachweis:ESO/D. Ribeiro for the MPE GC team
Über das Bild
| ID: | potw2610a |
| Sprache: | de-at |
| Typ: | Beobachtung |
| Veröffentlichungsdatum: | 9. März 2026 09:00 |
| Größe: | 1139 x 1139 px |
Über das Objekt
| Name: | G1, G2, G2t, GCIRS 16SW |
| Typ: | Milky Way : Star Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Center/Core |
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