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Hominids Walking Under Milky Way Flare
About 3.5 million years ago—just a blink of an eye in cosmic time—a tremendous explosion rocked the center of our galaxy. Our distant hominid ancestors, already afoot on the African plains, likely would have seen the resulting flare as a ghostly glow high overhead in the night sky. Now, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope's unique capabilities have uncovered even more clues to this cataclysmic explosion.
- Release DateJune 2, 2020
- Science ReleaseIntense Flash from Milky Way’s Black Hole Illuminated Gas Far Outside of Our Galaxy
- Credit
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Seyfert Flare Illustration
An enormous outburst from the vicinity of the Milky Way’s central black hole sent cones of blistering ultraviolet radiation above and below the plane of the galaxy and deep into space. The radiation cone that blasted out of the Milky Way’s south pole lit up a massive ribbon-like...
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Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
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Media
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
