"The Awakening: Our Galaxy's Black Hole Stirs After 200 Years"

New evidence from NASA's IXPE telescope suggests that the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* at the center of our Milky Way galaxy "woke up" about 200 years ago and began devouring cosmic debris. Previous X-ray studies detected recent X-ray emissions from giant clouds of gas near the black hole, indicating that it was not as dormant as previously thought. The X-rays from these clouds were reflected light from a short-lived flare produced by Sagittarius A*, possibly caused by the black hole consuming nearby material. The event is estimated to have occurred around the start of the 19th century.