Our galaxy’s giant black hole rejects ‘food’ because it’s too ‘hot’

Astronomers working with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have seen the giant black hole Sagittarius A* rejecting its ‘food’ of vast gas clouds as they aren’t sufficiently cool enough for it to swallow.

Sgr A* is one of very few black holes where we can actually witness the process
-Q. Daniel Wang

The giant black hole at the centre of the Milky Way appears to be on a severe diet. Scientists have now taken a major step towards understanding why - with new data providing insights into the reason behind the lack of radiation from material near some black holes.

Latest research shows the black hole ejecting matter it has funneled towards its ‘event horizon’ – or point of no return – because it’s too hot and spread out, with less than 1% of possible matter in its gravitational pull actually being consumed. 

The new findings, published in the journal Science, are the result of one of the biggest observing campaigns ever performed by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

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Image: A composite image of the region around Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way. X-ray emission is shown in blue.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/UMass/Q.D.Wang et al., IR: NASA/STScI


Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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