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As if 2020 wasn’t “ unprecedented ” enough, astronomers have discovered that Earth is actually 2,000 light-years closer to the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A * at the center of the Milky Way than previously thought.
What’s more, our solar system blasts through space at a speed of seven kilometers per second faster than scientists calculated.
The stellar revelations are thanks to a new and improved map of the Milky Way, released this week and based on observations collected from a Japanese astronomy project over the past 15 years, along with other recent data.
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One light year equals 9.5 trillion kilometers, so while it may initially seem like the end is near, scientists have pointed out that there is really no cause for alarm about Earth’s proximity to Sagittarius A *.
Rather than spelling impending doom, the new modeling allows scientists to pinpoint Earth’s position within the galaxy with a greater degree of accuracy.
Our newly charted Milky Way is the result of observations from telescopes all over Japan, which form the “VERA” radio astronomy project. Founded in 2000, VERA stands for VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) Exploration of Radio Astrometry.
The project uses the interferometry technique to combine data from multiple telescopes across Japan, creating a super-sharp resolution of 10 micro-arc seconds, in other words, focused enough to spot a coin on the moon’s surface.
Japan’s National Astronomical Observatory on Thursday revealed that its own astronomers, along with other groups, had generated a “map position and speed” which they used to calculate the center of the galaxy.
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This galactic center, astronomers said, is located 25,800 light-years from Earth, about 2,000 light-years closer than the official distance of the International Astronomical Union of 27,700 light-years, over which it settled in 1985.
And as 2020 continues to move at a dizzying speed, the new map has also led astronomers to discover that Earth is actually orbiting the center of the Milky Way at 227 km / s, rather than the slower official speed of 220 km. / s.
VERA researchers are now attempting to create more detailed maps of the area near the central supermassive black hole, using telescope data from Japan, South Korea and China.
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