The supermassive black hole of the Milky Way has fascinated scientists for decades. After all, it not only sucks in nearby objects: something is nevertheless thrown back into space. 13 telescopes, having turned into one superpowerful, discerned exactly these types of radiation and found that they are aimed exactly at the Earth. But there is no danger. And astronomers can even be glad.
We've spent decades trying to decipher what our supermassive black hole is. But important clues all this time could be under our noses.
Using 13 radio telescopes, astronomers at the Max Planck Institute were able to explore the region of Sagittarius A * (Sgr A *, pronounced "Sagittarius A with an asterisk" - approx. Transl.), Which contains a supermassive black hole in the Milky Way. And once they penetrated the scattered light noise surrounding it, they discovered that the powerful radio emission from the black hole, emanating from a tiny region, could be directed directly towards Earth. The study was published Monday in The Astrophysical Journal. If confirmed, it could shed light on Sgr A * and its radio signals.
Black hole radiation
Supermassive black holes are fairly common in our universe. They are found at the center of most large galaxies. Their strong gravitational fields allow them to suck in and destroy objects that come too close to them. And although they absorb most of this celestial matter, some still leave the black hole and are thrown back into space. These types of radiation, called jets, are sources of powerful radio waves and travel at a speed close to light.
And even though we can partially detect radio emission from the Earth Sgr A *, it is easier to talk about it than to work with it. In a phenomenon known as light scattering, the particles of starlight between the Earth and Sgr A * scatter, making it difficult to distinguish this kind of starlight from radio emissions from a black hole.
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Dazzling beam
But recently, a team of researchers was able to isolate this radio emission using VLB interferometry - a technique in which multiple telescopes form one very powerful one. Using 13 telescopes around the world, they were able to block out scattered light, giving them the chance to study the radiation as it really is.
They found that this radiation comes from a symmetrical source, which is in good agreement with the theory of jets, since they are ejected from black holes in opposite directions. It has also been found to be much more focused than previously thought. So narrow that it is aimed at us with an accuracy of one 300-millionth of a degree - that is, almost exactly at the Earth.
Fortunately, this means that we can see one of the defining characteristics of our black hole unhindered. And there is no need to worry that the jets "fire" at us, because, as far as we know, being in their path, we are not exposed to any danger. If anything happens, it will be that we can study the jets in great detail, as well as shed light on the mysterious nature of Sgr A *.
Amber Jorgenson