Recently, astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have announced the discovery of powerful magnetic fields swirling around the black hole located at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The ESO made this announcement after a new image from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) revealed a ring of magnetic fields surrounding Sagittarius A* black hole in polarized light for the first time.
These magnetic fields are similar to those observed around M87* black hole in the heart of M87 Galaxy, leading scientists to believe that strong magnetic fields might be a common feature of all black holes. According to Sara Issaoun from Harvard’s Center for Astrophysics, who co-leads the project, these magnetic fields near Milky Way’s black hole are strong, twisted and organized.
Images captured in polarized light provide astronomers with insights into the structure and strength of these magnetic fields. Supermassive black holes found at centers of galaxies possess masses millions and even billions of times greater than that of our sun, with their origins remaining a mystery to scientists. Despite being invisible to direct observation due to their immense gravitational pull, advancements in technology have allowed scientists to indirectly observe them through studying their halo of light produced by flow