This might wait like a petri cup of tea with some blob on it , or perhaps lense flair on some glass . But it is actually a rather sensational feeling at the center of our Milky Way galaxy .
The awesome image was create using observations from South Africa’sMeerKAT radio telescope , an array of 64 dishes across South Africa . These call for radio Wave from the universe , and in this showcase , they ’ve been used to construct a mental picture of the supermassive black pickle at the heart of our galaxy , Sagittarius A * , 25,000 faint - years away .
“ This image is remarkable , ” Farhad Yusef - Zadeh of Northwestern University in Evanston , Illinois said in astatement . “ The MeerKAT trope has such clarity … it shows so many features never before experience . ”
These lineament include filament near the black hole itself , which appear nowhere else in our wandflower . First break in the eighties , these filaments are longsighted , minute , and spellbind . Their origin is a mystery , one that could be solved in part by this enquiry .
scientist make the image to show the capabilities of the MeerKAT legal instrument , which was only recentlyfully exchange onwhen all 64 antennae were discharge . Each pair about 13.5 meters ( 44.3 feet ) across , and together they can give rise 2,000 unique antenna pairs , used to study different region of the sky in tandem .
We ca n’t observe Sagittarius A * in seeable igniter , because it is shrouded in thick clouds of junk and gas pedal . But using a radio scope like this ( or infrared and go - ray telescopes ) , we can peer through the debris and glimpse the black hole and its surroundings . A separate project is trying to directly image the black hole itself at the mo .
In the range of a function , the astronomic center is locate in the brightest area near the mental image center , measuring about 1,000 light - years across . Other bright areas of the image are the result of thing such as supernova remnants and mavin - forming region .
“ The centre of the galaxy was an obvious aim : unique , visually striking and full of unexplained phenomena – but also notoriously hard to image using radio telescope , ” Fernando Camilo , principal scientist of the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory ( SARAO ) , which built and operates MeerKAT , said in the statement .
“ Although it ’s other days with MeerKAT , and a hatful rest to be optimised , we determine to go for it – and were stunned by the results . ”
