Stretching Out

The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy is stretching a large gas cloud, known as X7, which forms a red streak in this image. Astronomers have watched the cloud for the past couple of decades, and have seen it get longer and skinnier. Today, it's twice as long as it was when astronomer first spotted it. It is moving toward the black hole, with closest approach expected in 2036. It will be pulled into long strands and small clumps, ending with big bursts of X-rays before the gas disappears into the black hole. [Anna Ciurlo/UCLA]