Unprecedented Discoveries Made at the Heart of the Milky Way.
Astronomers have discovered six objects orbiting Sagittarius A* at the center of the Milky Way that are unlike anything else in the galaxy. These objects, called G objects, behave like stars but look like gas clouds. They have orbital periods ranging from 170 to 1,600 years and could be binary star mergers. The extreme gravitational forces around Sagittarius A* could destabilize binary orbits, leading to mergers. The G objects could provide insight into how galaxies and black holes evolve.