It's hard to be modest when you live in the Milky Way.

Our
galaxy is brighter and more massive than most other galaxies.
From end to end, the disk-shaped Milky Way spans 120,000
light-years. 1 Encircling it is another disk, composed mostly of
5 hydrogen gas. And enclosing that is an enormous halo2 of dark
matter. 3 Indeed, our galaxy is so huge that dozens of lesser
galaxies circle it, like moons orbiting a planet.
massive Giant galaxies like the Milky Way and the nearby, even larger,
enormous
Andromeda galaxy possess the power to create a rich supply
giant
10 of i'ron, oxygen, and other heavy elements (heavier than
hydrogen and helium). Such heavy elements are the building
blocks of planets, and are essential for life. a depiction of our Milky Way

When a star explodes in a smaller galaxy, this raw material shoots out into space and is lost. But
in the vast Milky Way, the elements encounter gas and dust along their path, and are restrained
15 by the strength of the galaxy's gravitational field. These impediments slow their speed, so
they can enrich star-forming gas clouds with the ingredients for new generations of stars and
planets. That's what happened 4.6 billion years ago, when the sun and Earth were born.
rich --- enrich
Because we reside within the Milky Way, we actually know less about its overall appearance
than we do about distant galaxies. Think about it this way: in the absence of a mirror, you
20 know more about your friends' faces than your own. Nevertheless, in the past decade
astronomers have made numerous startling discoveries about our galaxy, beginning with
the revelation that a huge black hole4 lies at its heart.
Every star in the Milky Way revolves around this black hole, named
Sagittarius A* (pronounced "Sagittarius A-star"). The Sun, 27,000 light-
years away, completes a revolution once every 230 million years. 25
Within just a light-year of the black hole, there are more than 100,000
other stars caught far more firmly in its grip. Some take only a few
years to complete their orbits. These paths reveal that Sagittarius A*
is four million times the mass of the sun.
30
Every now and then, the black hole swallows a planet or star like a
particularly voracious vacuum cleaner. The victim is heated to such
Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way high temperatures that it lets out an explosion of x-rays which light
galaxy's supermassive black up nearby gas clouds. This helps keep a record of the black hole's
hole

1
A light-year is the distance light can travel in one year, equal to about 10 trillion kilometers.
2 The halo is the region of space surrounding a galaxy.
3 Dark matter has not yet been detected by astronomers, but is believed to exist to account for observed gravitational effects.
4 A black hole is an area in space that has such strong gravity that light cannot escape it.

Star Struck 141

 past feasts. For example, in 2004, scientists
35 reported an x-ray echo5 in a gas cloud some
350 light-years from the black hole. Since
x-rays travel at the speed of light, the echo
indicates that an object fell into the black
hole around 350 years ago. The x-ray intensity
40 suggests it had the mass of a small planet.
Surprisingly, the black hole also flings stars Cosmic dust obscures the Milky Way galaxy's center.
away. In 2005 astronomers reported a star
racing away from the galactic center at 709 kilometers a second. At that speed, it will soon
leave the galaxy. Fifteen more of these fast-moving stars have since been discovered. Over
45 the Milky Way's lifetime, the black hole may have flung a million stars out of the galaxy.
Despite the violence around the black hole, the galactic core is a fertile place. Stars
congregate at the galaxy's center, so the life-giving heavy elements they create are most
plentiful there. Even the newborn stars near our sun-halfway between the black hole and
the edge of the galaxy-possess orbiting disks of gas and dust that survive long enough to
50 give birth to planets.
In contrast, prospects for planets at the galaxy's edge are bleak. Over a hundred newborn
stars at the edge of the Milky Way were recently found to have low supplies of heavy
elements. For example, their oxygen content was only 20 percent of the sun's. Most of these
young stars have already lost their planet-forming disks of gas and dust. No disks, no planets;
55 no planets, no life.
Stars with even lower amounts of oxygen and iron offer insight into the birth of the galaxy
itself. Residing in the halo extending above and below the galaxy's disk, these stars are so
ancient that they formed before earlier generations of stars had a chance to produce heavy
elements. Astronomers date these stars, and hence the age of the entire galaxy, by studying
60 globular clusters-tightly packed groupings of older stars. However, estimates of their ages
depend on theories of how stars live and die.
Fortunately, there is another way to measure the galaxy's age. In 2005, a German graduate
student named Anna Frebel began looking for individual stars in the halo. She discovered one
that was chemically primitive-it had relatively few elements-meaning it must have been
65 born before many generations of stars had chemically enriched our galaxy. And this halo
star contained elements that are far heavier than iron, including uranium. She measured the
amount of uranium using a method similar to carbon dating, and estimated the star's age at
around 13.2 billion years old.
mighty _ big
That figure suggests that the Milky Way is only slightly younger than the universe itself, which
?o is 13.7 billion years old. The mighty galaxy, whose countless stars would later make life
possible on Earth, certainly didn't waste any time being born.

5 An echo is a sound caused by the reflection of sound waves from a surface back to the listener.

142 UNIT 8 Chapter 2

I
I
'J • .... ;.::..,· ' "'•• ,-' - '" "'"' :-.•,, • ' .....
�.,, �� • '', t� ..,, ' ,, �, . ,,.,_, ,,.. ' J .... ' ....
t" ,!-Ji�. ·, . '!,. " � ,,_ t= 1'�..
1.1
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A Choose the correct answer for the following questions. Reading

1 Where would you probably find this article? Comprehension
a on the front page of a newspaper Check Your Understanding
b in a general science magazine
c in a brochure for space travel
d in a training manual for astronauts
2 When a star explodes in the Milky Way, what holds back the raw material?
a black holes c dust , gas, and gravity
b iron, oxygen, and other elements d the exploding star's mass
3 Which is closest in meaning to the sentence Despite the violence around
the black hole, the galactic core is a fertile place (line 46)?
a The center of the galaxy is the worst place for stars and planets to be.
b The center of the galaxy can be both productive and destructive.
c Planets and stars collide with each other at the galactic center.
d . Nothing much happens in-the galactic center when there is a black
hole.
4 WtJat is most significant about Anna Frebel's research?
a She proved the theory of how stars live and die.
b She discovered a special star in the galaxy's halo.
c She discovered elements that were similar to uranium.
d She found a more accurate way to measure the galaxy's age.
5 Which could be another title for this article?
a Measuring the Milky Way c The Science of Exploding Stars
b What is a Black Hole? d Our Mysterious Milky Way
B Answer the following questions using information from the passage.

1 What surrounds the Milky Way?

a dust, hydrogen gas
dozens of lesser
the stars shoot out its materials, and heavy
2 What happens when a star explodes in the Milky Way? elements are
(what elements?) the elements encounter gas and dust along their path, and are restrained
15 by the strength of the galaxy's gravitational field.
3 Why does the author compare our knowledge of the Milky Way to a mirror?
because we actually know less about milky way overall appearance
than we do about distant galaxies. Our knowledge of the milky is limited because we cannot see
the milky way.
4 Why does the author say at the end of the article that our galaxy certainly
didn't waste any time being born?
countless stars of the galaxy would later make life
possible on Earth

C Discuss the following questions with a partner. Critical Thinking

1 Why do you think so many people are interested in space?
2 After reading the article, has your opinion about the likelihood of life on
other planets changed? Why, or why not?
Star Struck 143
 Vocabulary A � the word or phrase that does not belong in each group. The
Comprehension words in blue are from the passage.
Odd Word Out 1 cover span intersect extend
2 depressing bleak bright gloomy
3 advantage barrier obstacle impediment
4 move reside live occupy
5 revelation discovery lie surprise
6 fling throw pull hurtle
obstacle 7 possibility admission hope prospect
: something that blocks your way,
8 assemble break congregate come together
so movement is prevented
9 boring startling expected conventional
10 satisfied voracious fulfilled contented

B Complete the following sentences using the words in blue from A. You
might have to change the form of the word.

1 For security reasons, passengers on flights are not allowed to

________
congregate near the cockpit or galley areas.
2 Jack's low self-esteem and fear of puqlic speaking are
impediments
________ to him securing a good job in his field.
3 Kara has some exciting job prospects now that she has
graduated from college.
4 It was a(n) revelation when the scientists announced the new
star had been discovered by a 10-year-old.
5 The book on the Space Age spans a period of over
50 years.
6 The economic outlook for the company was ________ bleak as its
sales fell by another 10 percent.
7 The astronomer made a(n) ________
startling discovery that
overturned many theories about how black holes are formed.
8 He is a(n) voracious reader and can read up to one novel a
week.
9 My family ________
resides in the south part of the city, near the
river.
10 I'm not surprised his bag is in such a state, considering how recklessly
he flings it about.

144 UNIT 8 Chapter 2 .

A Study the following words. With a partner, write the part of speech and Vocabulary Skill
a simple definition for each word. Then check your answers using a The Root Word vac
dictionary.

/" Word Part of Definition '\ In this chapter,

you read the word
Speech vacuum, which
1 void n a large hole or empty space means an empty
airless space. This
2 devoid adj to lack or be without something that is necessary or usualis formed from
word
the Latin vacuus or
3 evacuate v to move people from a dangerous place to somewhere vacare,
safemeaning to be
4 vacant
empty. Variants of this
adj no filled or occupied; available to be used root are void or van,
5 vanish which
to disappear or stop being present or existing, especially inshare the sameway
a sudden
v
meaning. These roots
6 avoid v are combined with
to stay away from someone or something
prefixes and suffixes
7 vacation n a period of time to relax or travel for pleasure to form many words
in English that have a
8 vacuous adj similar meaning.
not expressing or showing intelligent thought or purpose

B Complete the following sentences using the correct form of the words
from A.

1 The people who live on the coast have been ordered to ____ evacuate_
because of the hurricane threat.
2 He didn't contribute much to the conversation and met every question
with a vacuous remark.
3 Although he has many hobbies, the _____ void left in my grandfather's
life when my grandmother died has never been filled.
4 Many scientists believe that Mars is devoid of life, but others think
there is a possibility that life exists.
5 It is an incredibly interesting country to travel to, but you must remember
to avoid drinking the tap water or you'll become ill.
6 On my vacation I'm planning to spend a day at the Kennedy Space
Center near Orlando.
7 This apartment will only be _____ vacant from next month. Until then,
someone will be living here.
8 vanish
In my favorite sci-fi' film, a spaceship _____ into a black hole and
only comes out of it at the end of the movie.

C Write two sentences using any two words from the chart in A.

1
2

Star Struck 145