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A new method developed by astrophysicists has shed fresh light on the mysterious black hole at the heart of our galaxy, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). Researchers say the supermassive object is spinning close to its maximum possible speed, with its axis pointed roughly toward Earth.
Simulations Offer Fresh Insights
The findings come from a team led by Michael Janssen from Radboud University and the Max Planck Institute. They built millions of simulations of black holes and trained a neural network to compare them with images from the Event Horizon Telescope. This powerful approach helped extract detailed features buried within the observational data.
The study focused on two black holes — our galaxy's Sgr A* and M87*, located 55 million light-years away. Both were previously imaged by the global EHT project. However, decoding those images remains a challenge. To tackle that, the team used high-throughput computing and artificial intelligence to identify the black holes' properties.
Surprising Magnetic Behaviour
They found Sgr A* to be spinning extremely fast, with hot electrons creating the glowing ring around it. Its magnetic field, however, is not acting as expected under current theoretical models. This observation might force scientists to rethink how magnetic fields behave in extreme environments.
M87* was also found to be spinning rapidly, but in a different direction from its surrounding disk. Researchers believe this reverse rotation could be the result of a previous merger with another massive black hole.
Looking Ahead to Better Data
According to Janssen, this new approach marks the beginning of more detailed black hole studies. He added that upcoming data from the Africa Millimetre Telescope, still under construction, could further refine these results and offer tighter tests of Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
The study’s results have been published across three papers in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
