Milky Way's monster black hole may be shooting superheated jets into our galaxy, groundbreaking images reveal

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mesmerize new figure of the supermassive contraband fix at the heart of theMilky Wayreveal a first look at the matter - gobble titan ’s magnetic field . The sensational snaps suggest that the cosmic void , key out Sagittarius A * ( Sgr A * ) , may be harbor hidden jets that are scoot superheated topic into our galaxy .

The new simulacrum were captured by theEvent Horizon Telescope(EHT ) , an array of radio observatories around the globe that act as a single scope , which captured thefirst - ever lineal photo of Sgr A * back in 2022 . Unlike previous images of the black hole , which is located around 27,000 light - years from the Dominicus , the new shots were accept using polarized Christ Within . This type of light is made up of waves that tickle in a individual plane ; the human eye can not distinguish it from other light , but it can be nibble up by radio telescopes .

A swirling ring of orange light

The newest photo of Sagittarius A from the Event Horizon Telescope has given us our first glimpse of the spiralling magnetic field lines of the supermassive balck hole.*

weigh twirl around a dark hole ’s event horizon — the item beyond which nothing , not even wakeful , can scarper the black hole’sgravitational pull — emit a passel of polarized light , making it stand out in the new photograph . This issue is mainly aligned along magnetic - subject area lines . As a answer , scientist can use the raw icon as a de facto map of Sgr A * ’s magnetized field , and they are surprised by how powerful it appear to be .

" What we ’re see now is that there are substantial , twisted , and organized magnetized fields near the black kettle of fish at the center of theMilky Waygalaxy,“Sara Issaoun , an EHT stargazer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics , said in astatement . The researchers hope this find can aid them instruct more about how Sgr A * feed on the matter encircling it , she added .

The initial determination were published March 27 inThe Astrophysical Journal Letters .

A diagram showing where Sagittarius A* is located in the Milky Way

Sgr A is located at the heart of the Milky Way, around 27,000 light-years from the solar system.*

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One of the biggest surprise from the new study is how interchangeable the fresh images look to the magnetic field of Messier 87 * ( M87 * ) — a black kettle of fish that ’s around 1,000 clock time heavy than Sgr A * and turn up 53 million light - years away , in the Messier 87 galaxy .

M87 * became thefirst black hole to ever be directly photographedwhen the EHT snapped it in 2017 . Since then , those exposure havebeen enhanced by AIand been followed up with additional photos , including a polarized light snap that revealed the black hole ’s magnetised field .

A comparison between the magnetic fields of black holes Sagittarius A* and M87

Sgr A appears to have a very similar magnetic field to M87*.*

research worker had mistrust that the subscript size of Sgr A * would intend its magnetic field would be much feeble and less organized than M87 * ’s . However , it appears this is not the case .

consider the similarity between the two smutty holes , researchers also go for Sgr A * could harbour huge outflows of superheated affair , known as jets .

In April 2023 , EHT captured thefirst - ever paradigm of black hole jets around M87 * , which were subsequently found to bearound 10 times farseeing than the Milky Way ’s diameter . Similar jets werealso tell apart by the EHTaround the supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy NGC 1275 , also sleep with as Perseus A , this February .

The giant radio jets stretching around 5 million light-years across and an enormous supermassive black hole at the heart of a spiral galaxy.

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An illustration of a black circle in space shooting a beam of light out of its center

Astrophysicists are particularly interested in black hole jets because they defy the mystery of how these cosmic juggernauts lose vim as they birl , which was previously thought to be impossible . Therefore , potentially having one of these jets in our own galaxy is highly exciting .

If Sgr A * does sport jets as well , we will probably find out within the next decennium as the EHT is expand , the researcher spell .

A bright red arc of light seen against greyish red clouds in space. hundreds of stars dot the background

An illustration of a black hole with a small round object approaching it, causing a burst of energy

an abstract image with a black and white background, and red, glowing scratchy shapes in the middle

An image of the Milky Way captured by the MeerKAT radio telescope. At the center of the MeerKAT image the region surrounding the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole blazes bright. Huge vertical filamentary structures echo those captured on a smaller scale by Webb in Sagittarius C’s blue-green hydrogen cloud.

An illustration of a black hole with light erupting from it

A lot of galaxies are seen as bright spots on a dark background. Toward the left, the JWST is shown in an illustration.

A close-up view of a barred spiral galaxy. Two spiral arms reach horizontally away from the core in the centre, merging into a broad network of gas and dust which fills the image. This material glows brightest orange along the path of the arms, and is darker red across the rest of the galaxy. Through many gaps in the dust, countless tiny stars can be seen, most densely around the core.