The Press Stories
Earth is a little closer to the miraculous black hole in the center of the Milky Way than we believe.
NAOJ
At the center of our galaxy, one about 4 million times heavier than our Sun. Supermasive black hole called Sagittarius A *.
And great news! Scientists have discovered that we are 2,000 light years closer to this colossal black hole than we thought.
This does not mean that we are currently in conflict with the black hole. No, this is the result of a more accurate model of the Milky Way based on new data.
For the past 15 years, the Japanese radio astronomy program, Vera, has been collecting data. Using a technique called interferometry, Vera collected data from telescopes throughout Japan and combined it with data from other existing projects to create a more accurate map of the Milky Way.
By indicating the location and velocity of about 99 specific points in our galaxy, Vera has determined that the miraculous black hole Sagittarius A at the center of our galaxy is actually 25,800 light-years away from Earth – almost 2,000 light-years closer than we previously believed.
In addition, the new model calculates that the earth is moving faster than we believe. Older models travel at a speed of 220 kilometers (136 miles) per second around the center of the galaxy. The new model of VERA has moved us at a speed of 227 kilometers (141 miles) per second.
Not bad!
Vera now hopes to increase the accuracy of its model by expanding to EAVN (East Asia VLPI Network) and collecting data from a large number of radio telescopes located throughout Japan, Korea and China. .
