Gas cloud-galactic black hole simulation. Computer model of the trajectory (red line) of a gas cloud (red and yellow) passing close to the supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A, centre) at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy. Stars are tracing orbits (blue lines) around the black hole, which is 25,000 light years from Earth, in the constellation of Sagittarius. Observations of this gas cloud were made in 2002, 2007, 2011 and 2013 with the VLT's NACO system. The break-up is expected to happen during 2013. This simulation published in 2013, shows the status of the gas cloud in mid-2013. The gas cloud had become so stretched that the front part of it had passed the closest point and was travelling away from the black hole at more than 10 million kilometres per hour, while the tail is still falling towards it.