Astronomers have captured the first-ever image of the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The image of the supermassive black hole was captured by the Event Horizon telescope, the same one that took the first image of any black hole ever back in 2019.
Scientists say the black hole is four million times more massive than the Earth’s sun, according to The Associated Press. It is not possible to view the black hole itself, so what you’re seeing in the video and image below is actually the “glowing gas” that surrounds it, astronomers said.
The black hole at the center of the Milky Way was described by the University of Arizona’s Feryal Ozel as a “gentle giant.” Almost all known galaxies have similar black holes at their center, astronomers believe. They capture all light and matter, which is why they are difficult to photograph.
The official name of the Milky Way black hole is Sagittarius A*, and it can be found close to the border of the Sagittarius and Scorpius constellations. It is about 27,000 light-years away from Earth, which is much closer than the black hole captured in 2019, which was 53 million light-years away.
The coordinated effort to capture this image from astronomers around the world carried a cost of $60 million, with $28 million coming from the US National Science Foundation.
In other fun and cool science news, members of the US government will hold a public hearing next week to discuss UFOs in an attempt to “break the cycle of excessing secrecy and speculation.”
