Key Takeaways
Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) facility, at press conferences held simultaneously at several centres around the world on Thursday, revealed the first image of the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.
The image of Sagittarius A* (SgrA*) gave further support to the idea that the compact object at the centre of our galaxy is indeed a black hole, strengthening Einstein’s general theory of relativity
About Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)
- The EHT uses a method known as “very long baseline interferometry” (VLBI) to yoke multiple telescopes together into a single virtual observatory the size of the planet.
- That combined power gave it the resolution necessary to take an image of the supermassive black hole in the giant elliptical galaxy M87.
- With the addition of four observatories, including CfA’s Greenland Telescope, the EHT continues to observe both M87 and Sagittarius
About Black hole
- A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out.
- The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.
- Because no light can get out, people can’t see black holes.
- They are invisible. Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes.
About Milky Way
- Milky Way Galaxy, large spiral system consisting of several hundred billion stars, one of which is the Sun.
- It takes its name from the Milky Way, the irregular luminous band of stars and gas clouds that stretches across the sky as seen from Earth.
- Galileo Galilei first resolved the band of light into individual stars with his telescope in 1610.
- 1920s: most astronomers thought that the Milky Way contained all the stars in the Universe.
- 1920: Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis, observations by Edwin Hubble showed that the Milky Way is just one of many galaxies.
About Sagittarius A* (SgrA*)
- On May 12, 2022, the EHT Collaboration revealed an image of Sagittarius A*, black hole in the centre of the Milky Way.
- The black hole is located 27,000 light-years away from Earth; it is thousands of times smaller than M87*.
Pic Courtesy: The Indian Express
News Source: The Hindu