Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

The Diner at the Center of the Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 30, 2011 is “The Diner at the Center of the Galaxy,” an image. It is credited to Illustration Credit: ESO / MPE / Marc Schartmann. The original explanation runs about 184 words.

The Diner at the Center of the Galaxy
Credit: Illustration Credit: ESO / MPE / Marc Schartmann Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The monster at the center of our Galaxy is about to get fed . Recent observations by the Very Large Telescopes indicate that a cloud of gas will venture too close to the supermassive black hole at the Galactic center.”

— APOD editors, December 30, 2011

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 30, 2011
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Illustration Credit: ESO / MPE / Marc Schartmann
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 184 words

All of December 2011 → · 2011 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

GalaxiesBlack holes

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 30 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.