Astronomers reveal first image of black hole at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy
Berlin, May 12: Astronomers on Thursday unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy.
The finding, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, provides overwhelming evidence that the object is indeed a black hole and yields valuable clues about the workings of such giants, which are thought to reside at the centre of most galaxies.
The image was produced by a global research team called the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration, using observations from a worldwide network of radio telescopes.
The finding was unveiled during simultaneous press conferences around the world, including at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) headquarters in Germany.
The image is a long-anticipated look at the massive object that sits at the very centre of our galaxy. Scientists had previously seen stars orbiting around something invisible, compact, and very massive at the centre of the Milky Way.
This strongly suggested that this object known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A* ) is a black hole, and the image provides the first direct visual evidence of it.
Although we cannot see the black hole itself, because it is completely dark, glowing gas around it reveals a tell-tale signature: a dark central region (called a shadow) surrounded by a bright ring-like structure, the researchers said.
The new view captures light bent by the powerful gravity of the black hole, which is four million times more massive than our Sun, they said.
We were stunned by how well the size of the ring agreed with predictions from Einstein's Theory of General Relativity," said EHT Project Scientist Geoffrey Bower from the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei.
"These unprecedented observations have greatly improved our understanding of what happens at the very centre of our galaxy, and offer new insights on how these giant black holes interact with their surroundings," Bower said.
Because the black hole is about 27 000 light-years away from Earth, it appears to us to have about the same size in the sky as a doughnut on the Moon.
To image it, the team created the powerful EHT, which linked together eight existing radio observatories across the planet to form a single Earth-sized virtual telescope.
The EHT observed Sgr A* on multiple nights in 2017, collecting data for many hours in a row, similar to using a long exposure time on a camera.
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Stoinis hundred trumps Gaikwad's ton, helps LSG beat hand CSK by six wickets
Chennai, Apr 23: Marcus Stoinis smashed an outstanding century to trump Ruturaj Gaikwad's effort as Lucknow Super Giants beat Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in an IPL match on Tuesday.
Stoinis remained unbeaten 124 off 63 balls with 13 fours and six sixes as LSG completed a record run chase at the Chepauk in 19.3 overs. This was also highest individual score in IPL in a run-chase.
Earlier, skipper Gaikwad led from the front with a superb 60-ball unbeaten 108 as Chennai Super Kings posted a challenging 210 for 4 . Gaikwad's knock, his second IPL hundred, was studded with 12 fours and three sixes. Shivam Dube muscled his way to a 27-ball-66, hitting seven sixes. For LSG, Matt Henry took for 1 for 28.
Brief Scores:
CSK 210 for 4 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 108 not out, Shivam Dube 66, Matt Henry 1/28)
LSG 213/4 (Marcus Stoinis 124 not out).
