There's WATER hiding right next to our galaxy's giant black hole

Professor Pip stood on a hilltop at nighttime, patted his forest-green lab coat pockets, and pulled out his small brass telescope and a very small glass of water. His fluffy tail swished with delight.

"Curiouser and curiouser," he murmured. "Astronomers have found water — plain, ordinary water — hiding right next to a black hole."

Mia and Leo sat on a picnic blanket in their pajamas, staring up at the Milky Way stretched across the sky like a river of milk.

"But black holes are the hungriest things in space!" said Leo. "They eat light! How can water live near one?"

"That is exactly the question," said Pip, tail swishing. "The middle of our galaxy is a very spicy neighborhood. Millions of stars pack together. Radiation zips around like invisible fireworks. And in the middle sits Sagittarius A-star — a black hole four million times heavier than our Sun." He rolled the R for extra drama.

"So how did the water survive?" asked Mia.

"Here's how." Pip picked up an umbrella, popped it open, and held it over Mia. Then he sprinkled a pinch of glitter above her head. Most of it bounced off the umbrella and drifted to the grass. "The umbrella is like the shell of dust around a puffy old star called IRS 3. The star is dying, and as it dies, it puffs out layers of dust — like blowing bubbles in soap. The dust wraps around the star like a cozy blanket. Inside that blanket, it's calm."

"Ohh!" said Leo. "Like being under a table when it's raining!"

"Precisely right! Inside the dust shell, water molecules can hold hands and stay together, even though outside — whoosh — the black hole is roaring."

Pip lifted his little glass of water toward the stars. "And here's the wondrous part. When old stars die, they send their dust and water floating out into space. That dust and water become the ingredients for new stars. And new planets. Maybe even planets with oceans. Maybe even planets with red pandas someday."

"You mean the water in my hot cocoa," Mia said slowly, "might have come from an old star?"

"Every drop." Pip smiled at the sky. "Every single drop."

He handed each of them a paper cup with a little water inside. "Now you try. Take a sip — and say hello to a star."