Astronomers Capture First Image of Milky Way’s Huge Black Hole

May 12, 2022by Seth Borenstein, Associated Press
Astronomers Capture First Image of Milky Way’s Huge Black Hole
This image released by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, Thursday, May 12, 2022, shows a black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The image was made by eight synchronized radio telescopes around the world. (Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The world got a look Thursday at the first wild but fuzzy image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy.

Astronomers believe nearly all galaxies, including our own, have these giant black holes at their center, where light and matter cannot escape, making it extremely hard to get images of them. Light gets chaotically bent and twisted around by gravity as it gets sucked into the abyss along with superheated gas and dust.

The colorized image unveiled Thursday is from the international consortium behind the Event Horizon Telescope, a collection of eight synchronized radio telescopes around the world. Previous efforts had found the black hole in the center of our galaxy too jumpy to get a good picture.

The University of Arizona’s Feryal Ozel called the black hole “the gentle giant in the center of our galaxy” while announcing the new image.

The Milky Way black hole is called Sagittarius A(asterisk), near the border of Sagittarius and Scorpius constellations. It is 4 million times more massive than our sun.

This is not the first black hole image. The same group released the first one in 2019 and it was from a galaxy 53 million light-years away. The Milky Way black hole is much closer, about 27,000 light-years away. A light year is 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion kilometers).

The project cost nearly $60 million with $28 million coming from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

A+
a-
  • black hole
  • Milky Way
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Science

    What's Pi Day All About? Math, Science, Pies and More

    Math enthusiasts around the world, from college kids to rocket scientists, celebrate Pi Day on Thursday, which is March 14... Read More

    Math enthusiasts around the world, from college kids to rocket scientists, celebrate Pi Day on Thursday, which is March 14 or 3/14 — the first three digits of an infinite number with many practical uses. Around the world many people will mark the day with a... Read More

    Plan for $400M Monkey-Breeding Facility in SW Georgia Draws Protest

    BAINBRIDGE, Ga. (AP) — Some local residents and an animal-rights group are protesting plans for a monkey-breeding facility in southwest... Read More

    BAINBRIDGE, Ga. (AP) — Some local residents and an animal-rights group are protesting plans for a monkey-breeding facility in southwest Georgia. Opponents on Tuesday urged the Bainbridge City Council to block plans by a company called Safer Human Medicine to build a $396 million complex that... Read More

    First US Lunar Lander in Over 50 Years Launched but Problem Develops on Way to Moon

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years rocketed to space Monday, launching... Read More

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years rocketed to space Monday, launching a race for private companies to deliver experiments and other items to the moon. But about seven hours after liftoff, Astrobotic Technology reported the solar panel... Read More

    France's Macron Says Melting Glaciers 'Unprecedented Challenge for Humanity'

    PARIS (AP) — Melting glaciers are an “unprecedented challenge for humanity,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, as he launched a... Read More

    PARIS (AP) — Melting glaciers are an “unprecedented challenge for humanity,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, as he launched a call for nations to work together on slashing planet-warming emissions, protecting the environment and collaborating on scientific research into the Earth's icy ecosystems. Such a united... Read More

    AI Raises Fears About Risks to Humanity. Are Tech and Political Leaders Doing Enough?

    LONDON (AP) — Chatbots like ChatGPT wowed the world with their ability to write speeches, plan vacations or hold a conversation as good... Read More

    LONDON (AP) — Chatbots like ChatGPT wowed the world with their ability to write speeches, plan vacations or hold a conversation as good as or arguably even better than humans do, thanks to cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems. Now, frontier AI has become the latest buzzword as concerns grow that... Read More

    October 23, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    AI Seen as Key to Planning Climate Change-Related Hazard Mitigation

    PASADENA, Calif. — As demand for more detailed assessment of climate risks grows, a team of scientists from around the... Read More

    PASADENA, Calif. — As demand for more detailed assessment of climate risks grows, a team of scientists from around the globe argue for utilizing artificial intelligence to greatly improve the climate simulations that form the basis of hazard mitigation plans. Although we’re all prone to complain... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top