For the first time, astronomers have been able to observe matter orbiting a hole in an orbit that is minimally close to it. The speed of the spinning substance is approximately 30% of the speed of light.
It takes place in the center of the Milky Way, about 26 thousand light years from us. The object of study was a compact radio source in the constellation of Sagittarius, known as Sagittarius A. Astronomers have thought for many years that there is a black hole there, but of course it is impossible to see it directly. There is nothing surprising in this - after all, the black hole does not reflect or emit any electromagnetic radiation. But it can emit matter around them.
The observation was carried out on the GRAVITY instrument installed on the Very Large Telescope in Chile. VLT is a complex of four optical telescopes. GRAVITY allows combining their data in the near infrared range (wavelength - 0.74-2.5 microns), obtaining a virtual "telescope" with a mirror diameter of 130 meters.
It takes place in the center of the Milky Way, about 26 thousand light years from us. The object of study was a compact radio source in the constellation of Sagittarius, known as Sagittarius A. Astronomers have thought for many years that there is a black hole there, but of course it is impossible to see it directly. There is nothing surprising in this - after all, the black hole does not reflect or emit any electromagnetic radiation. But it can emit matter around them.
The observation was carried out on the GRAVITY instrument installed on the Very Large Telescope in Chile. VLT is a complex of four optical telescopes. GRAVITY allows combining their data in the near infrared range (wavelength - 0.74-2.5 microns), obtaining a virtual "telescope" with a mirror diameter of 130 meters.
With this miracle technique, scientists were able to register several flares produced by matter orbiting a black hole in its accretion disk in its innermost stable circular orbit. This is the smallest orbit in its radius in which matter can revolve around a black hole. Everything that is closer is doomed to be absorbed.
The discovered phenomenon is fully consistent with the predictions of General Relativity and serves as another confirmation of the existence of a black hole. Apparently, it is not the only object of its kind - in the centers of other spiral galaxies one might expect to see a similar picture.
Earlier this year, GRAVITY and SINFONI, another VLT instrument, allowed the same team to accurately measure the parameters of S2's orbit as it passed through an extreme gravitational field near Sagittarius A, and for the first time to reveal the effects predicted by Einstein's general relativity in such an extreme environment. Strong infrared radiation was also observed during the fast passage of S2.
Promotional video:
For details of the latest work, see an article published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Sergey Sysoev