Astronomers have now captured the first image of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, reports CNN.
This feat marks a major milestone in the field of astronomy and physics as it represents the first visual confirmation of our galaxy’s supermassive black hole named, Sagittarius A*. The grounding image was captured by the new Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). The black hole is about 4 million times the mass of the Sun and is just less than 26,00 light-years from Earth. Although light cannot escape black holes, the hot plasma that swirls around them emits radio waves, which allowed for the image to be captured.
“These unprecedented observations have greatly improved our understanding of what happens at the very (center) of our galaxy, and offer new insights on how these giant black holes interact with their surroundings,” said EHT project scientist Geoffrey Bower, according to CNN.
As the first image has now been captured, the new development has the potential to further develop our understanding of physics and general relativity.
Check out the gallery above for a look at the historic image.
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