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Sagittarius A* Unleashes Powerful Flares Over Millennia

1/9/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, has produced powerful flares over the last 1,000 years.
The black hole's mass is about 4 million solar masses.
Researchers led by Stephen DiKerby, XRISM team lead, used XRISM to analyze X-rays reflected by a nearby molecular cloud to reveal past emissions.
The work was accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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Story summary

Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, has produced powerful flares over the last 1,000 years.
The black hole's mass is about 4 million solar masses.
Researchers led by Stephen DiKerby, XRISM team lead, used XRISM to analyze X-rays reflected by a nearby molecular cloud to reveal past emissions.
The work was accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.