Scientists Learn More about Black Hole at Center of Our Galaxy
2024-04-03
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1Researchers recently announced that they have found qualities of the main black hole in our Milky Way Galaxy that they did not know about before.
2Black holes are very massive objects with gravity so strong that even light cannot escape them.
3The space scientists said they found a strong and organized magnetic field around the black hole called Sagittarius A*.
4It is at the center of our galaxy 26,000 light years away.
5Activity at the edge of the black hole is believed to have created the magnetic field.
6It is similar to activity surrounding the only other black hole ever imaged.
7That one is at the center of a nearby galaxy commonly called M87.
8The researchers wondered if their finding suggests that strong magnetic fields might be a quality common to all black holes.
9The magnetic field around the M87 black hole, called M87*, causes it to launch powerful jets of material into space, the researchers said.
10They added that while such jets have not yet been found near Sagittarius A*, they might exist and might be observable in the near future.
11The researchers released the image showing the environment around Sagittarius A* in polarized light for the first time.
12In a way, light behaves like a wave. Light waves can move in different directions.
13When light waves are restricted to one direction, or plane, the result is polarized light.
14The latest image came from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT).
15It is an international network of observatories working together to study radio waves connected with black holes.
16The EHT also provided the earlier image of the M87 black hole.
17Sara Issaoun is with the Center for Astrophysics - Harvard & Smithsonian.
18Issaoun said scientists can "see" black holes: "By imaging polarized light from hot glowing gas near black holes, we are directly inferring the structure and strength of the magnetic fields..."
19She said observing polarized light made the new study different: "Compared to the previous results, polarized light teaches us a lot more about the astrophysics, the properties of the gas, and mechanisms that take place as a black hole feeds."
20A co-leader of the research, Issaoun said: "For a while, we've believed that magnetic fields play a key role in how black holes feed and eject matter in powerful jets."
21"This new image...shows that strong and ordered magnetic fields are critical to how black holes interact with the gas and matter around them."
22Angelo Ricarte is another researcher from the Center for Astrophysics who was involved with the study.
23Ricarte said: "The magnetic field appears to be organized into a spiral, similar to M87*.
24This magnetic field geometry implies that the black hole can power very efficient jets that shoot off into the galaxy,"
25The M87 black hole has a mass 6 billion times that of our sun - much bigger than the one in our Milky Way.
26It ejects a powerful jet visible in all wavelengths of light.
27The evidence for a jet flowing from Sagittarius A* is growing.
28Ricarte said that researchers are hopeful about the prediction for a powerful jet in the Milky Way's black hole.
29As tools get better in the coming years, he said, researchers should be able to better understand the issue from the data.
30The researchers' findings appeared recently in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
31I'm John Russell.
1Researchers recently announced that they have found qualities of the main black hole in our Milky Way Galaxy that they did not know about before. 2Black holes are very massive objects with gravity so strong that even light cannot escape them. 3The space scientists said they found a strong and organized magnetic field around the black hole called Sagittarius A*. It is at the center of our galaxy 26,000 light years away. 4Activity at the edge of the black hole is believed to have created the magnetic field. It is similar to activity surrounding the only other black hole ever imaged. That one is at the center of a nearby galaxy commonly called M87. 5The researchers wondered if their finding suggests that strong magnetic fields might be a quality common to all black holes. 6Black holes and jets 7The magnetic field around the M87 black hole, called M87*, causes it to launch powerful jets of material into space, the researchers said. They added that while such jets have not yet been found near Sagittarius A*, they might exist and might be observable in the near future. 8The researchers released the image showing the environment around Sagittarius A* in polarized light for the first time. 9In a way, light behaves like a wave. Light waves can move in different directions. When light waves are restricted to one direction, or plane, the result is polarized light. 10The latest image came from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). It is an international network of observatories working together to study radio waves connected with black holes. The EHT also provided the earlier image of the M87 black hole. 11Sara Issaoun is with the Center for Astrophysics - Harvard & Smithsonian. Issaoun said scientists can "see" black holes: "By imaging polarized light from hot glowing gas near black holes, we are directly inferring the structure and strength of the magnetic fields..." 12She said observing polarized light made the new study different: "Compared to the previous results, polarized light teaches us a lot more about the astrophysics, the properties of the gas, and mechanisms that take place as a black hole feeds." 13A co-leader of the research, Issaoun said: "For a while, we've believed that magnetic fields play a key role in how black holes feed and eject matter in powerful jets." 14"This new image...shows that strong and ordered magnetic fields are critical to how black holes interact with the gas and matter around them." 15Angelo Ricarte is another researcher from the Center for Astrophysics who was involved with the study. Ricarte said: "The magnetic field appears to be organized into a spiral, similar to M87*. This magnetic field geometry implies that the black hole can power very efficient jets that shoot off into the galaxy," 16The M87 black hole has a mass 6 billion times that of our sun - much bigger than the one in our Milky Way. It ejects a powerful jet visible in all wavelengths of light. 17The evidence for a jet flowing from Sagittarius A* is growing. 18Ricarte said that researchers are hopeful about the prediction for a powerful jet in the Milky Way's black hole. As tools get better in the coming years, he said, researchers should be able to better understand the issue from the data. 19The researchers' findings appeared recently in Astrophysical Journal Letters. 20I'm John Russell. 21Will Dunham reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 22_____________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24light year -n. a measure equal to the distance light travels in space or 9.5 trillion kilometers 25polarize - v. to restrict something, such as light waves, so that they only move in one direction or plane 26mechanism - n. a process or system that is used to produce a particular result 27eject - v. to push (something) out with force 28critical - adj. extremely important 29interact - v. to come together and have an effect on each other 30spiral - n. a circular curving line that goes around a central point while getting closer to or farther away from it 31imply - v. to include or involve (something) as a natural or necessary part 32efficient - adj. capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy 33infer - v. to reach (a conclusion) based on known facts