First look: black hole at heart of Milky Way
WASHINGTON: Scientists yesterday provided the first look at what they called the “gentle giant” lurking at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, unveiling an image of a supermassive black hole that devours any matter wandering within its gargantuan gravitational pull.
The black hole, called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*, is only the second one ever to be imaged. The feat was accomplished by the same Event Horizon Telescope international collaboration that in 2019 unveiled the first photo of a black hole.
Black holes are extraordinarily dense objects with gravity so strong that not even light can escape, making viewing them extremely challenging.