A bubble of gas observed around the black hole of our galaxy, Sagittarius A*, A very brief phenomenon which could lead to a better understanding of black holes.
Our Universe still holds many mysteries. And there’s no need to go extremely far to find them. Our galaxy itself still has many secrets. Particularly with regard to the black hole which is in its center. Astronomers have also made an astonishing discovery, they have observed the fleeting appearance of a bubble of gas flowing at “mind-boggling” speeds.
A bubble of gas observed around the black hole of our galaxy, Sagittarius A*
This bubble hasn’t existed for more than a few hours, but the mere fact of having detected it could provide valuable information about the behavior of black holes. These astronomical objects are most mysterious because they cannot be observed easily, their gravitational force catching even the light around them.
About 27,000 light-years from Earth, Sagittarius A* is the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy. the Milky Way. It could be detected thanks to the movement of stars orbiting around it. EHT, a global network of radio telescopes, published in May the very first image of the ring of matter that surrounds the black hole before, inevitably, being absorbed into it.
Today, it is one of these radio telescopes, ALMA, located in Chile, that interests us. The device picked up a “very surprising” signal in observational data from Sagittarius A*, as astrophysicist Maciek Wielgus of Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy reports. Just minutes before the data was collected, the telescope detected “a huge emission” of X-rays from Sagittarius A*. An emission similar to solar storms which threw a bubble of gas at full speed around the black hole.
A very brief phenomenon that could help to better understand black holes
This phenomenon was observed for about an hour and a half, which made it possible to calculate that the bubble in question could make a complete orbit of the black tower in 70 minutes, that is to say at a speed of about 30% that of light. It “defies the imagination” for Maciek Wielgus. According to him, this phenomenon would be of magnetic origin. The Dark Tower’s magnetic field being so strong that it prevents some of the matter circulating around from being absorbed into it, but this buildup would cause a “flux eruption” causing a breach in the magnetic field and releasing a burst of energy , the famous gas bubble observed by the devices.
This new discovery could help to better understand how black holes work.