These peculiar objects, referred to as G by astronomers, were initially identified as G1 and G2, and first came into the observation range of astronomers nearly two decades ago. This pair exhibited unusual orbits and properties. After extensive observations, researchers found that they are likely enormous gas clouds spanning about 100 astronomical units (the distance from the Sun to Earth is considered one astronomical unit). The gas clouds come close to the black hole’s event horizon.
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Simulation of the G objects around the supermassive black hole. UCLA
However, G1 and G2 do not behave like typical gas clouds, but rather resemble stars, as explained by physicist and astronomer Andrea Ghez from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in 2020, according to Science Alert on June 24th.
Ghez and her colleagues have been studying the center of the Milky Way Galaxy for over 20 years. Based on this data, the leading team of astronomers, led by expert Anna Ciurlo from UCLA, discovered four additional similar objects, namely G3, G4, G5, and G6.
The group of four objects recently identified is moving on different orbits from G1 and G2. Together, the G objects have orbits ranging from 170 to 1,600 years, according to a report in the journal Nature.
To this day, it remains unclear what these objects are and why they can exist in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* without being devoured by this “monster.”