The uncertainty of science: New research suggests first image in ’22 of Milky Way’s central black hole is likely not accurate
The original interpretation. Click for full image.
The new asymmetrical interpretation. Click for original image.
Surprise, surprise! A new analysis of the data behind the 2022 false-color radio image of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, posted to the right, suggests that image was not accurately interpreted from the data.
Astronomers led by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) say their analysis points at Sagittarius A* having an elongated accretion disk, as opposed to the ring-like “doughnut” image released in 2022 by an international team called the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration.
The EHT image shows a central dark region where the hole resides, circled by the light coming from super-heated gas accelerated by immense gravitational forces.
But a new paper published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests that part of this appearance may actually be an artefact because of the way the image was put together. … Assistant professor Miyoshi Makoto, of the NAOJ, said: “Our image is slightly elongated in the east-west direction, and the eastern half is brighter than the western half. We think this appearance means the accretion disk surrounding the black hole is rotating at about 60 per cent of the speed of light.” He added: “Why, then, did the ring-like image emerge? 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.”
It must be noted that this false color radio image was assembled from eight different radio telescopes across the globe, and to bring the data together required a great deal of massaging. While most astronomers appear to favor the top picture, it is just as likely that the bottom picture is a better representation. Either way, both must be considered in any future studies of Sagittarius A*’s environment and structure.
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The original interpretation. Click for full image.
The new asymmetrical interpretation. Click for original image.
Surprise, surprise! A new analysis of the data behind the 2022 false-color radio image of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, posted to the right, suggests that image was not accurately interpreted from the data.
Astronomers led by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) say their analysis points at Sagittarius A* having an elongated accretion disk, as opposed to the ring-like “doughnut” image released in 2022 by an international team called the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration.
The EHT image shows a central dark region where the hole resides, circled by the light coming from super-heated gas accelerated by immense gravitational forces.
But a new paper published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests that part of this appearance may actually be an artefact because of the way the image was put together. … Assistant professor Miyoshi Makoto, of the NAOJ, said: “Our image is slightly elongated in the east-west direction, and the eastern half is brighter than the western half. We think this appearance means the accretion disk surrounding the black hole is rotating at about 60 per cent of the speed of light.” He added: “Why, then, did the ring-like image emerge? 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.”
It must be noted that this false color radio image was assembled from eight different radio telescopes across the globe, and to bring the data together required a great deal of massaging. While most astronomers appear to favor the top picture, it is just as likely that the bottom picture is a better representation. Either way, both must be considered in any future studies of Sagittarius A*’s environment and structure.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Why does it have an “artist formerly known as Prince” style name? Non-pronounceable characters do not belong in names.
Wikipedia knows:
The name Sagittarius A* distinguishes the compact source from the larger (and much brighter) Sagittarius A (Sgr A) region in which it is embedded. Sgr A* was discovered in 1974 by Bruce Balick [de] and Robert L. Brown, and the asterisk * was assigned in 1982 by Brown, who understood that the strongest radio emission from the center of the galaxy appeared to be due to a compact non-thermal radio object.
In addition to not knowing to blame Robert Brown, I had not known it was so recent. I suppose it’s better than Macky MacBlackHole, but only barely.
Mark Sizer: Sagittaris A* is not impronounable. It is pronounced “A-star”, as Brown first suggested from the beginning.
I try to include this factoid whenever I post about Sgr A*, but didn’t today.