Sagittarius A* in pictures: The 1st photo of the Milky Way's monster black hole explained in images

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Space.com

 

On May 12, 2022, scientists unveiled the first-ever image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. 

The historic image of Sagittarius A* (or Sgr A* for short) came courtesy of the Event Horizon Telescope, a planet-wide array of observatories best known for capturing the event horizon of a black hole in Messier 87 (M87) in 2019. You can see the image above.

 

The image was taken in submillimeter radio waves, revealing there is indeed a black hole embedded in the heart of the Milky Way, eating on any hydrogen gas available. The image was also a massive technological breakthrough after years of attempting to capture Sgr A*, which is much smaller than M87.

Click the arrows above to learn more about how the black hole discovery was made.

 

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May 12 2022

Thurs. May 12 when astronomers from the Event Horizon Telescope project are set to unveil what it calls "groundbreaking results" from its study of the Milky Way.

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Dr. Becky

Your friendly neighbourhood astrophysicist. I'm Dr Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford. I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me!

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