New study reveals rapid spin of Sagittarius A*, the galaxy's center black hole

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The Space-time, is an amalgamation of the one-dimensional time and three-dimensional space, functions as a continuum, altering and curving under the influence of massive celestial bodies.

Utilizing NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, a team of physicists probed this black hole, situated 26,000 light-years away from Earth. Their approach, termed the outflow method, examines radio waves and X-ray emissions within the accretion disk enveloping black holes.

This study, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on October 21, precisely determined Sagittarius A*'s rotational speed.

Lead researcher Ruth Daly, a physics professor at Penn State University, emphasized that the black hole's spin induces the Lense-Thirring effect, dragging space-time along its rotation. Daly, the designer of the outflow method, has long been devoted to discerning the spins of various black holes, having explored over 750 supermassive black holes in a 2019 study.

Daly elucidated, «With this spin, Sagittarius A* will be dramatically altering the shape of space-time in its vicinity.

The space-time around it is not symmetric; it sort of looks like a football.»

The researchers highlighted that while this reshaping of space-time poses no immediate threat, it holds immense value for astronomers. Daly emphasized, «It’s a wonderful tool to understand the role that black holes play in galaxy formation and evolution.»

Assigning a spin value to black holes between 0 and 1 delineates their rotation, with 0 indicating no spin and 1 representing maximum spin.

Formerly, there was ambiguity surrounding Sagittarius A*'s spin value, which the outflow method resolved. Daly revealed that it rotates with an angular momentum value between