At the center of our Milky Way Galaxy lies an extremely massive or “supermassive” black hole. The dark mass was identified by its gravitational effects on surrounding stars and gas and by its pattern of X-ray emissions. The dark mass at the center of the galaxy weighs about 2.6 million suns. No other known object has this behavior or can cause this effect.

All galaxies with a central bulge are believed to have a supermassive black hole. The Andromeda Galaxy should have a supermassive black hole at its center.

The sharpest image ever taken of the center of our galaxy shows hundreds of white dwarf stars, neutron stars and black holes suspended in a cloud of 18- million-degree Fahrenheit gas. They are all remnants of massive stars that periodically blow up in spectacular supernovas. It’s a very high-pressured environment with a tremendous amount of X-ray radiation emanating from it.

Our solar system is a safe distance away from the center of our galaxy. Our solar system is about half way between the center and the outer edge, or 25,000 light-years from the dangerous central core.