Astronomers confront massive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A*

Astronomers confront massive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A*
Four distant stars orbit a black hole 4.3 million times bigger than the sun. Credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. da Silva /( Spaceengine); M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab)

At the center of the Milky Way is a supermassive black hole, 4.3 million times bigger than the sun, known as Sagittarius A*. Until recently, it was not clear how much of the matter at the heart of the galaxy was Sagittarius A*. Astronomers measured the velocities of four distant stars around the black hole. The movement of the stars indicates the mass at the galaxy’s center is composed almost entirely of matter from Sagittarius A*, leaving little room for stars, other black holes, interstellar dust and gas, or dark matter.

“The Gemini observatories continue to deliver new insights into the nature of our galaxy and the enormous black hole at its center,” said Martin Still, Gemini program officer at the U.S. National Science Foundation. “Further instrument development during the next decade intended for broad use will maintain Gemini’s leadership in the characterization of the universe around us.”

The team conducted the research at Gemini North in Hawaii, part of the international Gemini Observatory, a program of NOIRLab funded by NSF. The survey involved using spectroscopy from the Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph to measure the velocity of the stars and the SINFONI instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer to map the movement of the stars. Using the data from their observations, the team inferred that Sagittarius Acontains 99.9% of the at the galactic center.

The next step for astronomers is to learn what remains hidden in the center of the Milky Way. What fills the space that Sagittarius Ahasn’t claimed for itself? More will be revealed when astronomers measure fainter, more distant stars with even greater precision.



Citation:
Astronomers confront massive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A(2022, January 13)
retrieved 27 January 2022
from https://phys.org/news/2022-01-astronomers-massive-black-hole-heart.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Note: This article have been indexed to our site. We do not claim legitimacy, ownership or copyright of any of the content above. To see the article at original source Click Here

Related Posts
Flights scrapped as new  volcanic eruptions hit Canaries thumbnail

Flights scrapped as new volcanic eruptions hit Canaries

The Cumbre Vieja volcano keeps spewing out lava and smoke. Fresh volcanic eruptions in Spain's Canary Islands prompted the cancellation of flights, airport authorities said Friday, the first since the Cumbre Vieja volcano came to life again. New evacuations were also ordered as large explosions and new openings were reported at the volcano on La…
Read More
Energy sector methane emissions underreported: report thumbnail

Energy sector methane emissions underreported: report

Credit: CC0 Public Domain The energy sector's overall emissions of methane are massively underreported, the IEA said Tuesday as it promoted cuts to the most potent greenhouse gas as a quick way to make a major impact on global warming. The International Energy Agency said its latest annual Global Methane Tracker had found that emissions…
Read More
Flexotone Reviews: Does it Really Work? thumbnail

Flexotone Reviews: Does it Really Work?

Flexotone is an all-natural, therapeutic dietary formula that effectively cures joint pain, back pain, muscle stiffness, and other bone malfunctions.Are you at that point in your age when knees start to rattle and back starts to ache? Or, are you a twenty-something and already struggling to keep up with the pace of life due to…
Read More
Study: Feral Horses Form Complex Multilevel Societies thumbnail

Study: Feral Horses Form Complex Multilevel Societies

A team of researchers from Kyoto University and the Université de Strasbourg has applied drone techniques for the observation of feral horses living in Serra D’Arga, a mountain located in the north of Portugal. Maeda et al. took aerial photos of individual horses that appeared in pre-fixed areas and collected positional data. Image credit: Maeda…
Read More
Index Of News
Consider making some contribution to keep us going. We are donation based team who works to bring the best content to the readers. Every donation matters.
Donate Now

Subscription Form

Liking our Index Of News so far? Would you like to subscribe to receive news updates daily?

Total
0
Share