It was observed being plundered by a supermassive black hole at the heart of a spiral-shaped galaxy. The supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, called Sagittarius A*, possesses about 4 million times the mass of our sun. Most galaxies have such black holes at their center, and the environment around them can be among the most violent places in the universe. The star was observed orbiting the black hole every 20 to 30 days. This marked the first time that scientists had observed a sun-like star being repeatedly snacked upon by a supermassive black hole.

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Persons: Neils Bohr, Daniele Malesani, Neil Gehrels, Rob Eyles, Ferris, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: NASA, Neils, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, NASA's, University of Leicester, Thomson Locations: Hawaii, U.S, Handout, England