{"id":471,"date":"2021-12-14T16:00:26","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T15:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=106595"},"modified":"2021-12-14T16:20:15","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T15:20:15","slug":"new-images-zoom-right-into-the-black-hole-at-the-centre-of-our-galaxy","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/new-images-zoom-right-into-the-black-hole-at-the-centre-of-our-galaxy\/","title":{"rendered":"New images zoom right into the black hole at the centre of our Galaxy"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By James Cutmore\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 14 December 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

The European Southern Observatory\u2019s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO\u2019s VLTI) has obtained the deepest and sharpest images to date of the region around the supermassive black hole at the centre of our Galaxy.<\/p>\n

The new images, obtained between March and July 2021, zoom in 20 times more than what was possible before the VLTI and have helped astronomers find a never-before-seen star close to the black hole. By tracking the orbits of stars at the centre of our Milky Way, the ESO team have been able to make the most precise measurement yet of the black hole\u2019s mass.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to learn more about the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A*: How massive is it exactly? Does it rotate? Do stars around it behave exactly as we expect from Einstein\u2019s General Theory of Relativity? The best way to answer these questions is to follow stars on orbits close to the supermassive black hole. And here we demonstrate that we can do that to a higher precision than ever before,\u201d explains Reinhard Genzel<\/a>, a director at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching, Germany.<\/p>\n

ESO\u2019s upcoming Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in the Chilean Atacama Desert, will further allow the team to measure the velocity of these stars with very high precision.<\/p>\n

Stars orbiting our closest supermassive black hole<\/h2>\n
\""stars\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
These annotated images, obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) between March and July 2021, show stars orbiting very close to Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. One of these stars, named S29, was observed as it was making its closest approach to the black hole at 13 billion kilometres, just 90 times the distance between the Sun and Earth. Another star, named S300, was detected for the first time in the new VLTI observations. To obtain the new images, the astronomers used a machine-learning technique, called Information Field Theory. They made a model of how the real sources may look, simulated how GRAVITY would see them, and compared this simulation with GRAVITY observations. This allowed them to find and track stars around Sagittarius A* with unparalleled depth and accuracy. Photo by ESO\/GRAVITY collaboration<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The star orbit images in detail<\/h2>\n
\""stars\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by ESO\/GRAVITY collaboration<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n
\""stars\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by ESO\/GRAVITY collaboration<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n
\""stars\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Photo by ESO\/GRAVITY collaboration<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n
\""This\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
These images show stars orbiting very close to Sgr A* (centre, not visible), the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. They were obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at the end of July 2021. Photo by ESO\/GRAVITY collaboration<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Take a look at our other great images galleries:<\/strong><\/p>\n