Assuming that we somehow manage to make it to the Central Bulge of the Milky Way galaxy, this is what we will find. The galactic disc will start bulging as we move towards the centre and its diameter varies between 70,000 to 100,000 light years. The central bulge can be divided into two parts- the Nucleus and the Halo. The halo is a less dense region surrounding the nucleus, which contains some of the oldest stars. At a distance of 7500 light years from the centre, we can actually find the oldest star yet discovered in our galaxy – HE 1523-0901. A star in its Red Giant phase, its age is estimated to be about 13.2 billion years which is nearly the same as the estimated age of the universe.
As we move closer to the exact centre of the galaxy, we can experience a gravitational force that we have never felt before. A Supermassive Black Hole welcomes us!!! Black Holes are objects whose gravitational pull is so strong that not even light can escape from it. Named Sagittarius A*, it is a source of intense radio waves and is four million times more massive than the sun. Astronomers have long suspected the presence of a supermassive black hole at the center, by observing the behavior of the stars around it.
So before it can suck us in for eternity, let’s tighten our seat belts and head back to the peaceful Earth…..
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