The Milky Way’s Black Hole Is Eerily Quiet. Scientists Have Now Found Evidence of Its Missing Wind
Researchers mapped a 3-light-year cavity around Sagittarius A* and used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to confirm hot gas outflows.
- Scientists have detected wind emanating from Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, ending a more than 50-year search for evidence of the phenomenon.
- Sagittarius A*, a gigantic black hole with the mass of about 4 million suns, has puzzled scientists for more than 50 years because it appeared strangely quiet, defying physics predictions.
- Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array in Chile, researchers mapped cold gas and discovered a cavity about 3 light-years long, which NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory confirmed was sculpted by hot plasma from the black hole.
- The discovery confirms that even quiet black holes launch winds, solving a long-standing mystery, according to Lena Murchikova, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern University.
- Researchers plan to expand the map to a larger region and create a "movie" of gas approaching the black hole to observe cloud movement and estimate gas consumption rates.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Astronomers may have solved a long-standing mystery surrounding the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. Using ALMA radio telescopes, they have discovered a trace of the wind that is emitting the phenomenon, after searching for it for over fifty years.
Scientists claim to have detected evidence of a cosmic scale wind coming from a supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy, potentially solving one of the oldest mysteries of astronomy. Sagittarius A*, a gigantic black hole with mass equivalent to about 4 million suns, intrigues the scientific community for more than 50 years. The laws of physics determine that, like all black holes, the object should not only consume matter, but also e…
The black hole Sagittarius A* in the center of the Milky Way expels a powerful wind that has generated curiosity among scientists and, after 20,000 years, has revealed its secret. This is known of the black hole in the center of the Astrophysical Milky Way of Northwestern University revealed that a powerful hot wind “blows” from Sagittarius A*. This supermassive black hole is about 26 thousand light years away from our solar system. With the ALM…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 87% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
