Astronomers to unveil groundbreaking results about the center of our galaxy

 

Could it have something to do with the Milky Way's supermassive black hole?

 

If the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) sounds familiar, it's because its crew was behind a major accomplishment. The team published the first-ever image of a black hole's event horizon in 2019, a remarkable achievement that represented an enormous milestone for radio astronomy and physics at the time.

 

According to a statement released by the EHT on Thursday, the EHT is planning to unveil some "groundbreaking results" regarding the centre of our galaxy in collaboration with the European Southern Observatory. The news release reads, "The US National Science Foundation, in collaboration with the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, will hold a press conference to reveal a significant finding in the Milky Way."

 

A new not-yet revealed discovery

What is this new discovery, exactly? EHT wasn't only looking at M87, the gigantic beast at the heart of the Messier 87 galaxy that produced the first-ever image of a black hole.

 

The organisation was also looking at Sagittarius A, or Sgr A, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. This black hole is 4.3 million times the mass of the sun and is only 25,000 light years away from Earth.

 

Sgr A is substantially smaller and closer to M87 than M87. (M87 is 6 billion times more massive than Earth and is 50 million light-years away.) You might believe that being closer makes it easier to investigate and get some rather precise findings.

 

Celestial interference

Sfr A, on the other hand, was more difficult to explore than M87 because there's a lot more cosmic gas and dust in the way of radio telescopes looking at astronomical objects towards the centre of our galaxy. Could EHT have surmounted this stumbling block to create yet another image of a black hole?

 

Of course, this is only an educated guess. Nobody knows what EHT's next announcement will contain, or whether it will be a photograph of Sgr A. We'll have to wait until the EHT's scheduled press conference on May 12 to obtain that response. What we do know is that it will be thrilling and potentially revolutionary.

Reference: National Science Foundation