Sgr A* – Astronomy Now

Nobel Prize in physics honours black hole theory and observation

6 October 2020 Astronomy Now

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics honours Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for the theory and observation of black holes

Milky Way’s central black hole flares as it feasts

14 September 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers monitoring the supermassive black hole at the core of the Milky Way have noted three unprecedented flare ups this year as it gobbles stellar debris.

Visualizing the chaos near the Milky Way’s central black hole

24 March 2019 Astronomy Now

A 360-dergree visualization of the Milky Way’s core from the perspective of its central supermassive black hole shows the chaotic motion of nearby stars and gas clouds.

Jet from Milky Way’s central black hole may be facing Earth

24 January 2019 Astronomy Now

High-resolution virtual views of the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole indicate one if its powerful jets could be aimed roughly in the direction of Earth.

Mystery objects whizzing about in Milky Way’s core

8 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Spectrographic data indicates several unusual compact dusty objects are circling the supermassive black hole at the core of the Milky Way, the possible result of stellar mergers triggered by the hole’s titanic gravity.

Stellar mass black holes swarm in Milky Way’s core

11 May 2018 Astronomy Now

The Chandra X-ray Observatory has detected a dozen X-ray binaries containing stellar-mass black holes near the core of the Milky Way. Theoretical analysis indicates thousand more likely are lurking unseen.

Successful first observations of galactic centre with GRAVITY instrument

23 June 2016 Astronomy Now

A European team of astronomers have used the new GRAVITY instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope to obtain exciting observations of the centre of the Milky Way by combining light from all four of the 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes for the first time. These results provide a taste of the groundbreaking science that GRAVITY will produce as it tests Einstein’s general relativity.

Signs of second-largest black hole in the Milky Way

17 January 2016 Astronomy Now

A team of astronomers has found an enigmatic gas cloud, called CO-0.40-0.22, only 200 light-years away from the centre of the Milky Way. The cloud contains gas with a very wide range of speeds. The so-called velocity dispersion is best explained by the gravitational attraction of an intermediate mass black hole. If that is the case, then this is the first detection of such a body.

Pulsar with black hole could hold the ‘holy grail’ of gravity

6 December 2014 Astronomy Now

The intermittent light emitted by a pulsar allows scientists to verify Einstein’s theory of relativity, especially when paired up with another neutron star that interferes with its gravity. According to researchers from Spain and India, this theory could be analysed much more effectively if a pulsar with a black hole were found.