Latest study suggests that the first-ever image of our galaxy’s black hole is inaccurate

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) made history in 2022 by capturing the first-ever image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. The image, a fuzzy orange doughnut, offered a glimpse into the heart of darkness of the Sagittarius A* or Sgr A*. However, a recent independent analysis suggests that this iconic image may not be entirely accurate.

A team of scientists from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) has proposed that the ring-like structure in the EHT image might be an artifact of the imaging process. Instead, they believe the accretion disk surrounding the black hole is likely more elongated.

 “Why, then, did the ring-like image emerge?” Assistant Professor Miyoshi Makoto of the NAOJ asks in a statement. “Well, no telescope can capture an astronomical image perfectly.”

“We hypothesise that the ring image resulted from errors during EHT’s imaging analysis and that part of it was an artefact, rather than the actual astronomical structure.”

The EHT consortium has yet to comment on this new interpretation. However, it’s important to note that capturing images of black holes is an incredibly complex task. The EHT uses a network of telescopes around the world to form a virtual Earth-sized telescope, but even this powerful instrument has its limitations.

Our Milky Way galaxy contains more than 100 billion sun-like stars and about the same amount of black holes (you can even contribute to detecting them). “These black holes swallow everything, including light, making it impossible to see the supermassive black hole itself,” the statement reads. “However, analysis of stars circling the black hole at high speed indicates that Sagittarius A* has a mass approximately 4 million times that of the Sun.” By closely observing its surroundings, researchers can obtain clues to the nature of the invisible black hole. And hopefully, more accurate images will emerge in the future as technology becomes more advanced.

If you’re curious to learn more, you can find a paper about these results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

[via Space.com; image credits: Event Horizon Telescope collaboration et al.]

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