The simulated picture shows a gas cloud (with its orbit shown in red) after close approach to the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Astronomers using European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope have discovered a gas cloud with several times the mass of the Earth accelerating fast towards the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. This is the first time ever that the approach of such a doomed cloud to a super massive black hole has been observed. (Xinhua/ESO)