A group of astrophysicists from the US and Canada has estimated how fast the Sagittarius A* black hole is spinning at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).
Using the Chandra X-ray telescope, scientists examined radio waves and other radiation emitted by streams of matter surrounding Sagittarius A*.
To determine the rotation rate of black holes, a special system is used in which the main indicator varies between 0 and 1. Accordingly, 1 is the maximum rotation speed of a given object, and this is a significant part of it. Speed of light. How fast a black hole can spin depends on its size and the amount of material it absorbs.
Calculations by astrophysicists showed that Sagittarius A* was spinning at a speed between 0.84 and 0.96, approaching the limit of its capabilities.
Scientists suggest that a black hole’s spin rate may also be affected by its accretion disk, a ring of hot material pulled by a cosmic object’s strong gravity. This assumption explains how Sagittarius A* managed to accelerate to a speed comparable to the rotation speed of the black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy, which has a mass a thousand times more massive than Sagittarius A*.
Scientists say the discovery that Sagittarius A* is spinning at the highest possible speed has far-reaching implications for understanding how black holes form.
Earlier astronomers decided Examine the center of our galaxy in detail using the James Webb Space Telescope.