Astronomers in the past decade have begun to discover that almost every galaxy has a massive black hole in its center. The dark monsters gobble up matter and energy that their immense gravitational fields come in contact with. Our own Milky Way, however, is a bit of an exception. Its central black hole, Sagittarius A*, seems dormant in the sense that it's not actively sucking up nearby stars.

Today, scientists in Japan theorize that our central black hole may just be catching a break before its next full meal. Using satellites and X-ray technology, it was confirmed that Sagittarius A* went on a feeding frenzy 300 years ago.

Observers in the Kyoto University were able to observe a flare around the black hole which lit up during the said period. The lighting phenomenon, however, disappeared quickly, leaving astronomers wondering what might have happened.

The only clear thing is that the flare is a band of gas spiraling downward to the black hole at high speeds. The drift heats up gas molecules to extreme temperatures, making it give off a bright glow. The only question is why it stopped. Normal central black holes don't usually do that.

One possible explanation is that the gas drifting to Sagittarius A* came from a supernova nearby. The spewed dust and gas would have supplied a feeding frenzy for the black hole, creating the bright flare observed in Japan.

Scientists expect Sagittarius A* to feed again in the future when a star or other matter comes close enough to its area of influence. Don't worry, though. Earth is about 26,000 light years away from it, so we're pretty safe from what would be certain doom at the jaws of the sleeping giant.