Astronomers are preparing a “revolutionary” announcement of the Milky Way

Astronomers are preparing a "revolutionary" announcement of the Milky Way

Astronomers from the Southern European Laboratory have announced a conference where they will present a mysterious discovery that could be presented as “revolutionary” in relation to the Milky Way.

The team of eminent astronomers has provoked the community of all astronauts and amateurs by mocking the announcement of a “revolutionary” discovery in our Milky Way. These results will be announced on May 12th, and we can say that there is a lot to be interested in.

In fact, if this mysterious and surprising rowdy announcement had come from a Lambda laboratory it would have been almost a story. But it is actually the opposite; The message comes directly from the dignitaries European Southern Observatory (ESO)A company obviously does not usually go into a state of turmoil.

And, above all, it’s about resultsEvent Horizon Telescope (EHT). In this context, astronomers tremble at the mere mention of an important conclusion. And for good reason: the same machine made production possible The world’s first live image of the black hole. An important step for experts, but it also had implications for the general public who were inspired by this red halo.

For some time now, the main task of EHT Explore the heart of our galaxy. So expect innovation “Revolutionary”This area, as announced by the ESO, is directly relevant. For now, the suspense remains the same; But whatever the researchers find there, they felt it was worth announcing with great fanfare at a special conference on May 12.

X-ray display of the signal associated with Sagittarius A *, captured here by Chandra X-ray Laboratory. © NASA

Link with Sagittarius A *?

In the meantime, let’s try to formulate some hypotheses. To do this, let’s start looking at the properties of this zone. It is generally accepted that the Milky Way, like many other galaxies, has a single center Black hole Supermasive called Sagittarius A * (Sgr A *).

However, as noted above, the EHT has been pointing in this direction for several months. If one adds this information to one’s genealogy as a black hole hunter, one begins to know the outward appearance of a possible scenario; It seems increasingly plausible to announce a major breakthrough in the nature and characteristics of ESO Sagittarius A *.

This is because although it is generally accepted that it is a black hole, this information has not been verified with absolute certainty. The most convincing results were brought about by the exceptional work of Reinhard Jensel and Andrea Guess; They succeeded in proving that Sgr A * is a highly compact supermasive substance, to which the black hole reflects. The only credible explanation Under current models.

From this award-winning work Nobel Prize in Physics For its authors in 2020, the scientific community is working hard to confirm this black hole status once and for all. After all, they are trying to create an image of the horizon of the black hole in the visible spectrum, as it was in 2019.

The first image of a black hole was made by young researcher Katie Bowman using an algorithm. © Event Horizon Telescope collaboration et al.

Hunting for black holes is a complex exercise

This was already an amazing scientific achievement. In fact, black holes are by definition Very opaque. IThey have the annoying habit of absorbing all electromagnetic radiation, including light. It is therefore physically impossible to observe the black hole.

Astronomers must satisfy themselves in searching the horizon, which includes a limit Disk of gas and dust accumulating around the singular When emitting very intense radiation. For this reason the image of the black hole was later passed on to offspring, which took the shape of a ring.

It was also announced to shoot the portrait in Sgr A * Even more complicated. In fact, this cosmic giant has so far only been seen indirectly, thanks to the mass and orbit of nearby objects. If it is difficult to observe directly, it is because it is partially obscured Large cloud of dust and gas; There is an obstacle that greatly complicates the work of astronomers. If they really succeed in producing an image of its horizon, the worthy “revolutionary” used by researchers will be completely justified.

Whether this is the subject of this conference or not, we are making an appointment for this already announced conference on May 12 at 3pm. Attractive in many ways; This announcement will be broadcast live on the ESO YouTube Channel.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *