Photo: EHT CollaborationThe black hole in the middle of our galaxy is getting some time in the spotlight.On Thursday, astronomers from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaborationrevealedthe first-ever image of the black hole located 27,000 light-years away from Earth in the middle of the Milky Way.Scientists long suspected the galaxy was home to a supermassive black hole after detecting stars orbiting an invisible object, a report published on the Event Horizon Telescope website says. Now, the newly published image offers scientists “overwhelming evidence” that the object is indeed a black hole, which astronomers have named Sagittarius A*.Images of black holes are extremely rare, and the one of Sagittarius A* is only the second-ever following the image of the black hole at the center ofgalaxy Messier 87unveiled in 2019.“Now we can study the differences between these two supermassive black holes to gain valuable new clues about how this important process works,” EHT scientist Keiichi Asada — from the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei — said in a statement.“We have images for two black holes — one at the large end and one at the small end of supermassive black holes in the Universe — so we can go a lot further in testing how gravity behaves in these extreme environments than ever before,” Asada added.According to NASA, a black hole is a place where gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape it. They usually occur when a star is dying, and its matter is squeezed into a tiny space.In their report, EHT said the image does not show the black hole itself because it is completely dark. But it does show the “glowing gas” around it. They said the black hole is four million times more massive than the Sun.“For decades, astronomers have wondered what lies at the heart of our galaxy, pulling stars into tight orbits through its immense gravity,” CfA astrophysicist Michael Johnson said, according toSmithsonian.“With the EHT image, we have zoomed in a thousand times closer than these orbits, where the gravity grows a million times stronger,” Johnson explained. “At this close range, the black hole accelerates matter to close to the speed of light and bends the paths of photons in the warped spacetime.“RELATED VIDEO: Blue Origin’s 20th Mission to Space Blasts Off with Crew That Includes Company Rocket ArchitectEHT said it will be expanding its network, including technical upgrades, to allow scientists to capture more images of black holes in the future.
Photo: EHT Collaboration
The black hole in the middle of our galaxy is getting some time in the spotlight.On Thursday, astronomers from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaborationrevealedthe first-ever image of the black hole located 27,000 light-years away from Earth in the middle of the Milky Way.Scientists long suspected the galaxy was home to a supermassive black hole after detecting stars orbiting an invisible object, a report published on the Event Horizon Telescope website says. Now, the newly published image offers scientists “overwhelming evidence” that the object is indeed a black hole, which astronomers have named Sagittarius A*.Images of black holes are extremely rare, and the one of Sagittarius A* is only the second-ever following the image of the black hole at the center ofgalaxy Messier 87unveiled in 2019.“Now we can study the differences between these two supermassive black holes to gain valuable new clues about how this important process works,” EHT scientist Keiichi Asada — from the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei — said in a statement.“We have images for two black holes — one at the large end and one at the small end of supermassive black holes in the Universe — so we can go a lot further in testing how gravity behaves in these extreme environments than ever before,” Asada added.According to NASA, a black hole is a place where gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape it. They usually occur when a star is dying, and its matter is squeezed into a tiny space.In their report, EHT said the image does not show the black hole itself because it is completely dark. But it does show the “glowing gas” around it. They said the black hole is four million times more massive than the Sun.“For decades, astronomers have wondered what lies at the heart of our galaxy, pulling stars into tight orbits through its immense gravity,” CfA astrophysicist Michael Johnson said, according toSmithsonian.“With the EHT image, we have zoomed in a thousand times closer than these orbits, where the gravity grows a million times stronger,” Johnson explained. “At this close range, the black hole accelerates matter to close to the speed of light and bends the paths of photons in the warped spacetime.“RELATED VIDEO: Blue Origin’s 20th Mission to Space Blasts Off with Crew That Includes Company Rocket ArchitectEHT said it will be expanding its network, including technical upgrades, to allow scientists to capture more images of black holes in the future.
The black hole in the middle of our galaxy is getting some time in the spotlight.
On Thursday, astronomers from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaborationrevealedthe first-ever image of the black hole located 27,000 light-years away from Earth in the middle of the Milky Way.
Scientists long suspected the galaxy was home to a supermassive black hole after detecting stars orbiting an invisible object, a report published on the Event Horizon Telescope website says. Now, the newly published image offers scientists “overwhelming evidence” that the object is indeed a black hole, which astronomers have named Sagittarius A*.
Images of black holes are extremely rare, and the one of Sagittarius A* is only the second-ever following the image of the black hole at the center ofgalaxy Messier 87unveiled in 2019.
“Now we can study the differences between these two supermassive black holes to gain valuable new clues about how this important process works,” EHT scientist Keiichi Asada — from the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei — said in a statement.
“We have images for two black holes — one at the large end and one at the small end of supermassive black holes in the Universe — so we can go a lot further in testing how gravity behaves in these extreme environments than ever before,” Asada added.
According to NASA, a black hole is a place where gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape it. They usually occur when a star is dying, and its matter is squeezed into a tiny space.
In their report, EHT said the image does not show the black hole itself because it is completely dark. But it does show the “glowing gas” around it. They said the black hole is four million times more massive than the Sun.
“For decades, astronomers have wondered what lies at the heart of our galaxy, pulling stars into tight orbits through its immense gravity,” CfA astrophysicist Michael Johnson said, according toSmithsonian.
“With the EHT image, we have zoomed in a thousand times closer than these orbits, where the gravity grows a million times stronger,” Johnson explained. “At this close range, the black hole accelerates matter to close to the speed of light and bends the paths of photons in the warped spacetime.”
RELATED VIDEO: Blue Origin’s 20th Mission to Space Blasts Off with Crew That Includes Company Rocket Architect
EHT said it will be expanding its network, including technical upgrades, to allow scientists to capture more images of black holes in the future.
source: people.com
