Welcome to the Astro Minute, where we’re exploring the universe sixty seconds at a time. I’m   Lauren Smyth, and today we’re looking for a big black hole.



Our Milky Way Galaxy, one of around two hundred billion galaxies in the universe, contains some hundred billion stars, as well as planets, gas, and dust. At its center, conducting this vast symphony, is a supermassive black hole. Earth is distant enough to be safe from the black hole’s dangerous effects, but perfectly positioned to see it. Of course you can’t SEE a black hole - not even light can escape its powerful pull - but the plentiful objects it gathers around itself are hard to miss. Look low in the southeast for a group of stars shaped like a teapot, part of the constellation Sagittarius. The center of our galaxy is just above the Teapot’s spout. Scan the region with binoculars to see many stars and beautiful nebulae, including the Lagoon Nebula and the Trifid Nebula. 

Look soon - Sagittarius will spend the winter below the horizon!



That’s your Astro Minute!