When this happens the violent conditions in the accretion disk create powerful emissions and jets from an area that is called an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Many black holes consume material, gas and dust or material ripped from nearby stars, surrounding it in an accretion disk gradually feeding matter to the center. So, if the sun were replaced by a black hole, Earth would remain stable and safe in its orbit albeit robbed of heat and light. Instead, they just capture in their gravity any matter that ventures too close. It's a common misconception that black holes suck in material. (Image credit: ESA/NASA, the AVO project and Paolo Padovani) (opens in new tab) On May 12, 2022, scientists unveiled our first view of Sagittarius A* in a striking image.Īn artist’s impression of an active galactic nucleus powered by a supermassive black hole. The star also has a highly elliptical 16-year orbit . To observe Sagittarius A*, astronomers monitored the star S2 , which orbits Sagittarius A* at a distance of 11 billion miles (18 billion km) and a speed of 17.1 million mph (11.4 kph) . For instance, the mass of a central body and its radius can be determined by observing the gravitational influence that it has on the objects that orbit it. Observing Sagittarius A* from Earth is made even more difficult due to the fact that it is shrouded by a thick screen of intervening dust.įortunately, astronomers have developed other ways of gaining insights into Sagittarius A*. This is because not only do they not emit light, but black holes also trap photons behind a boundary called the event horizon, making studying them directly in optical light near impossible. Sagittarius A*: ObservationsĮverything in our 13.6 billion-year-old galaxy orbits Sagittarius A*, including our solar system , which is located 26,000 light-years away.īlack holes are notoriously difficult to spot, usually only inferred by the effects they have on their environment. This accretion disc is also connected with X-ray emissions caused by friction driving temperatures in the disc up as high as 18 million degrees Fahrenheit (10 million degrees Celsius). This is tiny compared to the Milky Way itself, which is 100,000 light-years wide and 1,000 light-years thick.Īlso dwarfing Sagittarius A* is a disk of gas surrounding it that extends for between 5 and 30 light-years occasionally feeding matter to Sagittarius A* causing faint flashes of X-rays. Astronomers have also calculated that the diameter of the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole is around 14.6 million miles (23.5 million kilometers) .
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