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Expert: Ed - 9/24/2009


Question
when the milky way lines up with the earth and the sun can the gravity from the blackhole pull solar flares from the sun and consume the earth in fire?

Answer
Matt,
No, you should not be worried about this.  The black hole at the center of the Milky Way is many, many light years away.  At that distance, its gravitational effects on the sun are weaker than the effects produced upon the sun by the average twinkie, if the twinkie is sitting on a picnic table here on Earth.

Keep Looking Up,
-Ed

Astronomy

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Ed

Expertise

I am not a professional astronomer by any means, but astronomy has been an interest of mine since childhood, and I am well-informed on the subject. If unable to answer someone`s question personally, I will know how to quickly find the answer online, because I keep myself informed about developments in the field and I know where to look for information.

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I worked in an observatory for awhile at one point, doing various interesting things with a computer.

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