Cape Times

First look: black hole at heart of Milky Way

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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.

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