THE heart of our Milky Way galaxy is blinking at us, according to scientists.<\/p>\n
Mysterious signals from Sagittarius A, a huge black hole at the centre of our galaxy, were picked up by one of the world's most powerful telescopes.<\/p>\n
2<\/p>\n
In a new study, experts at Keio University in Japan outline how the strange, repeating signals may form.<\/p>\n
\"This emission could be related with some exotic phenomena occurring at the very vicinity of the supermassive black hole,\" team member Professor Tomoharu Okasaid.<\/p>\n
Researchers studied readings of Sagitarius A (Sag A) taken in 2017 by the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA).<\/p>\n
They found a previously-undiscovered light signalcoming from the supermassive black hole, which is four million times as massive as our Sun.<\/p>\n
2<\/p>\n
The burst of energy likely originated from a region of swirling hot gas around Sag A known as its accretion disk.<\/p>\n
Activity appears to stem from the innermost edge of the disk.<\/p>\n
The edge is close to the black hole, which is spinning gas and debris around at close to the speed of light.<\/p>\n
During this process, random \"hot spots\" appear that flash millimeter and submillimeter light - the signal detected by the scientists.<\/p>\n
What is a black hole? The key facts<\/p>\n
What is a black hole?<\/p>\n
What is an event horizon?<\/p>\n
What is a singularity?<\/p>\n
How are black holes created?<\/p>\n
It remains unclear what is causing the flashes, but scientists hope the answer could help them learn more about the activity of black holes.<\/p>\n
Experts may struggle to find out, however, as photos of Sag A are next-to-impossible to capture because it absorbs all surrounding light.<\/p>\n
\"The faster the movement is, the more difficult it is to take a photo of the object,\" Professor Oka said. <\/p>\n
The research was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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What do you think of the black hole find? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more:<\/p>\n Mystery radio signal detected coming from the heart of our galaxy and may be sent from a black hole - The Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE heart of our Milky Way galaxy is blinking at us, according to scientists. Mysterious signals from Sagittarius A, a huge black hole at the centre of our galaxy, were picked up by one of the world's most powerful telescopes Continue reading