The black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy poses a new mystery for researchers

Black holes are not as different as you think. New research reveals powerful magnetic fields and raises an exciting question.

MUNICH – Black holes are fascinating and mysterious celestial objects. They swallow everything that comes near them and let nothing escape, not even light. Therefore, they are not visible to the human eye, but also to telescopes and other auxiliary means. But a few years ago, a research consortium was able to capture the immediate surroundings of two black holes, including their “shadows.”

Images released by the team behind the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) of the M87* black hole at the heart of the galaxy M87 and the Sgr A* black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy have caused a stir around the world.

The Event Horizon telescope looks at the center of the Milky Way

Although Sagittarius A* is a thousand times smaller and less massive than M87*, the images of the two black holes are surprisingly similar. This led to the question of whether the two black holes share similarities in other aspects as well. To answer this question, my research team again looked at the center of the Milky Way, but this time in polarized light.

Polarized light, which oscillates in the preferred direction, is almost indistinguishable from natural light to the human eye. However, in the plasma surrounding black holes, scientists can better identify processes in polarized light and map magnetic field lines. That's exactly what the EHT research team did, and has now published a new image of the black hole Sgr A*.

The M87* and Sgr A* black holes are very similar

The image shows that the two black holes also have very similar features in polarized light: “We now see that there are strong, twisted, regular magnetic fields near the black hole at the center of the Milky Way,” says Sarah Isson of the center. for astrophysics at Harvard and the Smithsonian. When studying M87*, scientists previously discovered that magnetic fields in the region enable the black hole to spew powerful jets of material back into the environment. New images suggest this may also be true for Sagittarius A*.

“Combined with the fact that Sgr A* has a strikingly similar polarization structure to the larger and more powerful black hole M87*, we have learned that strong, ordered magnetic fields play a crucial role in how black holes interact with the gas and matter surrounding them.” “Around us,” explains Issoun, one of the project managers.