Supermassive black hole found in the centre of Milky Way is 'not spinning much': Study

A new study conducted by scientists at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian and the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) at Northwestern University, which has been published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters reveals that the massive black hole in center of the Milky Way galaxy is not spinning much. The study also provides evidence saying that it is unlikely to have a jet. As per the study, the massive hole has a critical influence on the formation and evolution of galaxies. Also, measuring the impact of their spin is not an easy task, said the scientists. 

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New revelations about Black Holes

Dr. Avi Loeb, Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard and CfA astronomer, and co-author on the research, said, “Black holes release a huge amount of energy that removes gas from galaxies and therefore shapes their star formation history”. Loeb said that the black hole’s impact on orbits of nearby stars can be termed as ‘subtle and difficult to measure directly’. The researchers, in a bid to understand the role of Sgr A* in the formation of the Milky Way, studied the closest stars orbiting Sgr A*. Fragione said it was concluded that the supermassive hole is spinning slowly. He said, “This can have major implications for the detectability of activity in the center of our galaxy and the future observations of the Event Horizon Telescope”. 

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Another important discovery of the study was that Sgr A* is unlikely to have a jet. Fragione said that there is no evidence of a jet. He added, ‘Upcoming analysis of data from the Event Horizon Telescope will shed more light on this issue’. The discovery just came before few days before scientists Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez were awarded Nobel Peace Prize for their work that demonstrated that Sgr A* is a black hole.

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