Those wishing to know more about what wonders the center of our galaxy holds will now be able to satisfy their curiosity thanks to a new visualization called “Galactic Center VR”, based on the data supplied by telescopes such as NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, space.com reports.
According to the media outlet, this creation essentially allows viewers to witness some 500 years of evolution at Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole located in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, whose visualization was based on modeling from the objects known as Wolf-Rayet stars, as the outer layers of material they periodically shed gets picked up by Sgr A* gravity.
"When the winds from the Wolf-Rayet stars collide, the material is heated to millions of degrees by shocks — similar to sonic booms — and produce copious amounts of X-rays," NASA explained. "The center of the galaxy is too distant for Chandra to detect individual examples of these collisions, but the overall X-ray glow of this hot gas is detectable with Chandra's sharp X-ray vision."
The visualization displays about three light-years of space centered on Sgr A*, and viewers can move the simulation in different directions and tinker with its aspects, the media outlet adds.
