The latest and most definitive measurement puts the mass of that
black hole at 3,600,000 times the mass of the Sun.1 The Milky
Way Galaxy’s central black hole by itself is not dangerous to
life on Earth. It is too far away to pose a significant source
of gravitational disturbance. What does pose a risk for Earth
life, though, is the gas, dust, and stars that swirl into the
maw of the black hole. As this material nears the event horizon
of the black hole, the black hole’s intense gravity causes up to
ten percent of the mass of this material to be converted into
deadly radiation. Fortunately, for life on Earth, especially the
more radiation-sensitive advanced life, the deadly radiation
doesn’t prove lethal. The solar system maintains an orbit about
the center of the Milky Way Galaxy (MWG) that keeps it within
the plane of the Galaxy where a thin dust layer blocks out
almost all the radiation emanating from the central black hole.
As enormous as the MWG’s central black hole measures to be, it
is tiny by comparis