The groundbreaking 2022 image of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) at the Milky Way’s core may not be a completely accurate depiction, according to researchers at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). Their new analysis suggests that the black hole’s accretion disk might actually be elongated rather than circular.
Using the same data from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) a global network of radio telescopes the NAOJ team applied different analysis methods. Unlike the original circular appearance seen in the EHT’s analysis, the NAOJ’s reanalysis yielded an east-west elongated shape, with the eastern side of the disk appearing brighter. This brightness variation suggests that parts of the accretion disk could be rotating at about 60% of the speed of light, creating a Doppler effect that makes the eastern portion appear more luminous.
NAOJ astronomer Miyoshi Mikato explained that the circular image seen in the original EHT analysis could be partly due to artifacts introduced by the imaging process. In radio interferometry, especially over large distances with imperfect data alignment, imaging algorithms may “fill in” data gaps inaccurately. The NAOJ team suggested that a bumpy point-spread function (PSF) in the EHT’s data reconstruction created the rounded ring we first saw, whereas their reanalysis smooths these gaps, producing the elongated disk.
This discrepancy highlights the challenges in imaging black holes, where extreme gravitational effects distort light, making it difficult to capture an accurate view. Both interpretations of Sgr A*’s disk circular or elongated are plausible under the current data constraints.
The EHT is continuously improving its techniques, aiming to produce more detailed images of Sgr A* and other black holes. Further observations and refined data processing could eventually resolve these visual differences, helping us understand more about the complex dynamics around black holes and providing a clearer view of Sgr A*’s mysterious heart.
Read Now:Israeli Raid in Gaza Hospital Leads to Arrests of Suspected Hamas Militants
