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  "path": "/science/science-breakthrough-new-theory-milky-way-sagittarius-black-hole",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-07T12:47:17.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Donald Trump ‘authorises access to UFO bases and non-human bodies’, US congressman claims",
    "Chester Zoo revives 'extinct' species after handful of specimens discovered in alleyway",
    "Grave belonging to lost Viking king may have been found on English coast",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nAstronomers have operated under the assumption for 50 years that a colossal black hole lurks at the heart of our galaxy, but a new space theory now poses a bold challenge.\n\nResearch published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests the Milky Way's centre may instead harbour a vast concentration of dark matter rather than the black hole known as Sagittarius A*.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe notion of a central black hole derives from the late 1960s and early 1970s, following the detection of intense radiation towards the constellation Sagittarius.\n\nBy the 1990s, observations of stars racing around an invisible point had seemingly confirmed the presence of an object containing several million solar masses.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nYet this new study suggests an alternative explanation may prove more plausible.\n\nThe researchers instead propose that dark matter composed of subatomic particles called fermions could form a distinctive cosmic structure.\n\nThis configuration would feature an extraordinarily dense core enveloped by a far more expansive, diffuse halo. Together, these two components would function as a single unified entity.\n\nThe compact inner core would possess sufficient mass and density to replicate the gravitational influence traditionally attributed to a black hole.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nSuch a structure could account for the behaviour of the S-stars, which hurtle around the galactic centre at velocities reaching several thousand kilometres per second.\n\nThese stars execute remarkably tight orbital loops around something invisible, movements long considered proof of a supermassive black hole.\n\nThe fermionic model could also explain the trajectories of nearby dust-shrouded objects known as G-sources.\n\nThe model draws additional support from data gathered by the European Space Agency's GAIA DR3 mission, which has carefully charted how stars and gas rotate in the Milky Way's outer regions.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * ~~~~Donald Trump ‘authorises access to UFO bases and non-human bodies’, US congressman claims\n  * Chester Zoo revives 'extinct' species after handful of specimens discovered in alleyway\n  * Grave belonging to lost Viking king may have been found on English coast\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThis mapping revealed a gradual slowing of galactic rotation, termed the Keplerian decline, which the researchers believe their dark matter halo can explain.\n\nThe theory also aligns with the celebrated image captured by the Event Horizon Telescope.\n\nA previous study demonstrated that glowing gas swirling around a dense dark matter core would cast a shadow strikingly similar to the one photographed at our galaxy's centre.\n\n\"This is a pivotal point,\" said Valentina Crespi of the Institute of Astrophysics La Plata, the lead author.\n\n\"Our model not only explains the orbits of stars and the galaxy's rotation but is also consistent with the famous 'black hole shadow' image.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"The dense dark matter core can mimic the shadow because it bends light so strongly, creating a central darkness surrounded by a bright ring.\"\n\nThe investigation brought together researchers from the Institute of Astrophysics La Plata in Argentina, institutions in Italy, Colombia and Germany.\n\n\"This is the first time a dark matter model has successfully bridged these vastly different scales and various object orbits, including modern rotation curve and central stars data,\" said study co-author Dr Carlos Argüelles of the Institute of Astrophysics La Plata.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"We are not just replacing the black hole with a dark object; we are proposing that the supermassive central object and the galaxy's dark matter halo are two manifestations of the same, continuous substance.\"\n\nStatistical comparisons between the fermionic model and traditional black hole theory proved inconclusive with current observations.\n\nFuture instruments, including the GRAVITY interferometer at Chile's Very Large Telescope, may prove decisive.\n\nThe detection of photon rings, a distinctive black hole signature absent from dark matter cores, would be particularly telling.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "New space theory could rewrite everything we know about Milky Way: 'This is a pivotal point!'"
}