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Astrophysics

A retouched image

EHTRing in 2022 image may not be entirely accurateEHT

Questions have been raised about the celebrated first image of the black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) at the center of the Milky Way. The accretion disk at its center may actually be elongated from east to west, rather than the circular shape it was shown as having in 2022. Researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) presented the suggestion after using different methods to analyze the data on Sgr A* obtained by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) using eight ground-based radio telescopes. Part of the ring image may be an artifact of the construction, which combined information from multiple sources. The proposed elongated shape would mean the accretion disk is rotating at about 60 percent of the speed of light around the center of the four-million-solar-mass black hole. The undeniable brightness is created by the magnetic fields and friction between the materials that form the accretion disk (Universe Today, October 25; Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, November).

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