A supermassive black hole in the Milky Way rotates rapidly and takes the shape of a rugby ball | Top Vip News

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A supermassive black hole in the Milky Way is spinning rapidly and taking the shape of a rugby ball, NASA says

The Sagittarius A* black hole is located about 26,000 light years from Earth.

The center of our Milky Way galaxy is home to a supermassive black hole that is spinning so rapidly that it warps space-time into an oval shape that resembles a rugby ball. The result is based on a comprehensive analysis of X-ray and radio measurements. NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory, an X-ray telescope in space. The giant black hole, known as Sagittarius A* or Sgr A*, is located about 26,000 light years from Earth.

“Black holes have two fundamental properties. The first is their mass, or how much they weigh. The second is their spin, or how fast they spin. Determining either of these two values ​​tells scientists a lot about any hole. black and how it behaves,” NASA explained.

Scientists have not been able to determine the exact rotation speed of Sgr A*, but they are certain that it weighs approximately four million times more than the Sun. This new study uses a method based on the movement of material to and from the black hole to calculate the spin rate of Sgr A* using radio and X-ray data.

The results show that the black hole spins very fast. The US space agency said: “Scientists believe it spins so rapidly that it warps space-time around it into a shape that resembles an American football.”

The concept of time combined with the three dimensions of space is called spacetime. Although black holes have long been known to have this ability, there is now substantial evidence that the black hole in the Milky Way does.

“Our work may help resolve the question of how fast our galaxy’s supermassive black hole is spinning. Our results indicate that Sgr A* is spinning very quickly, which is interesting and has far-reaching implications,” said Ruth Daly of Penn State University. who is the lead author of the new study.

The spin of a black hole also has other implications. It can act as an important source of energy. Extracting spin energy from rotating supermassive black holes can result in narrow jet-like flows. Although Sgr A* is not very active at the moment, this new discovery suggests that it may become more active in the future.

“A spinning black hole is like a rocket on its launch pad,” said co-author Biny Sebastian from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. “Once the material gets close enough, it’s like someone fueled the rocket and pressed the ‘launch’ button.”

According to the space agency, if the properties of matter and the intensity of the magnetic field near the black hole change in the future, some of the enormous energy from the black hole’s spin could generate more powerful outflows. If the star gets too close to the black hole, this material from the gas or remains of a star will be torn apart by the black hole’s gravity.

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