English Explanatory Dictionary

Sagittarius A*

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. The central supermassive black hole of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Word forms

Sagittarius A*

Etymology

From being the unseen gravitational centre associated with the astronomical radio source Sagittarius A, the astrophysical radio source associated with the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy. The asterisk * originally symbolized an exciting discovery, by analogy with the symbol's use to denote the excited state of atoms.

Synonyms

Sgr A*

Related words

Messier 87*
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