The "super massive" black hole at the centre of our galaxy is luring its prey steadily towards, and we can witness it for the first time ever.

The object hurtling towards the black hole is not a star, but a gaseous cloud. The cloud is being ripped apart as it is drawn into the black hole, which has a mass four million times greater than the sun.

The European Southern Observatory have been observing the black hole, the universe' largest, for twenty years. This cloud has sped up over the last seven years, as it gets much closer to its final demise.

The cloud is picture in red above, while the stars around the black hole are marked in white, and their orbit in blue.

The observation has scientists fizzing with excitement, as they can observe how matter is added to a black hole, something that has been science fiction to date.