An object is being lurking near the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy – and scientists might finally know what it is.

The object, known as X7 and stretched out near our Milky Way’s black hole, has mystified scientists for decades. Researchers have speculated that it might have broken free of a nearby structure, for instance, and puzzled over whether it was always such a long shape or if it had been shaped by the black hole that it is sliding towards.

Scientists now believe that it could be a cloud of gas and dust that was thrown out when two stars collided.

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In the time since, the object known as X7 has been stretched out, and is gradually being pulled apart by the force of the black hole. In the next few decades, it will be ripped to pieces, disintegrate, and the dust and gas that made it up will be pulled into the black hole.

Read more: The Independent