] SAN DIEGO -- A new study reveals that the center of our
] Milky Way Galaxy is loaded with black holes, as
] astronomers have expected in recent years.
]
]
] The galactic center is dominated by one supermassive
] black hole. It packs a mass equal to about 3 million
] Suns. Around it, scientists have expected to find a high
] concentration of stellar black holes, the sort that
] result from the collapse of massive stars. Each can be a
] few to many times the mass of the Sun.
]
]
] Observations have hinted at the existence of many stellar
] black holes near the galactic center. But nosing around
] there is hard, because the region is shrouded in dust.
] Visible light doesn't escape the region.
]
]
] The ongoing study, led by UCLA postdoctoral fellow
] Michael Muno, is searching the inner 75-light-years of
] the galaxy with the NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
] X-rays conveniently pierce interstellar dust.
]
]
] Muno and his colleagues have found strong evidence for
] seven black holes (they could be neutron stars, which are
] also very dense). Importantly, four of the objects were
] concentrated in the inner 3 light-years of space around
] the supermassive black hole.