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ESO, European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere

Scientists have captured the first ever image of the magnetic field surrounding the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole.

Astronomers captured the most detailed image of the supermassive black hole that sites in the center of our Milky Way, revealing stunning orange swirls around the edge of Sagittarius A*.

<p>A new series of observations by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration measuring the degree of polarization in the emitted light shows that the black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) in the center of our Milky Way is surrounded by strong, spiral-shaped magnetic fields. Such a magnetic structure is likely produced by the magnetized plasma that is falling onto Sgr A* and is similar to that of M87*, the black hole at the center of the galaxy M87. This important result suggests that all black holes may have strong magnetic fields and that Sgr A*, like M87*, may emit a particle jet th...

The image showed Sgr A* in polarized light for the first time, revealing a magnetic field structure very similar to that of the M87* supermassive black hole.