The Real Post-Superbowl Star: The Huge Black Hole at Our Center of the Milky Way Spins So Fast It Warps Spacetime and Takes the Shape of a Football

A supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way is spinning so fast that it is warping spacetime and taking on the shape of a football.

The black hole, named Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), is located 26,670 light-years (32.2 million miles) from Earth.

Spacetime combines the three dimensions of space with the fourth dimension of time and as it is accelerated it acts like a giant trampoline, bending around the black hole and compressing it until it takes on a more oval shape.

Data from NASA’s Chandra

Researchers used a new method called the “outflow method,” which looked at X-ray and radio data and the combined findings from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the National Science Foundation’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA).

The outflow method revealed for the first time a more accurate estimate of the black hole’s mass and how fast it is spinning.

The outflow method determines the relationship between how fast the black hole spins and its mass, the properties of the matter near the black hole, and its outflow properties.

The collimated outflow – particles emitted by the black hole – produces radio waves, and the gas disk surrounding the black hole is responsible for the X-rays.

Researchers found that SGR A* spins with an angular velocity – how fast an object rotates – that is about 60 percent of the maximum possible value and an angular momentum of 90 percent, according to their study published in Oxford Academic.

An example of angular momentum is when a figure skater tucks his arms and legs closer to his body while spinning, causing him to spin faster while maintaining the same momentum.

Sgr A* rotates at an angular velocity of 60 percent of maximum velocity and 90 percent angular momentum

“Black holes have two fundamental properties: their mass (how much they weigh) and their spin (how fast they rotate),” NASA explained.

‘Determining either of these two values ​​tells scientists a lot about each black hole and how it behaves.’

NASA has released an illustration showing the cross-section of the football-shaped supermassive black hole surrounded by swirling material.

The black sphere in the center of the image represents the event horizon: an area where nothing can escape, not even light.

‘If you look at the spinning black hole from the side, as shown in this illustration, the surrounding space-time is shaped like a football. The faster the spin, the flatter the football,” according to NASA.

In the past, astronomers have estimated the rotation speed of Sgr A*, but reported that the supermassive black hole was not spinning at all, or that it was spinning at near its maximum speed of 300,000 km per second.

“Our work could help solve the question of how fast the supermassive black hole in our galaxy is spinning,” said Ruth Daly of Penn State University, lead author of the study.

‘Our results indicate that Sgr A* is spinning very quickly, which is interesting and has far-reaching consequences.’

There is a supermassive black hole at the center of every galaxy, with a mass of hundreds of thousands to billions of times the mass of the Sun.

According to NASA, the Milky Way Galaxy’s supermassive black hole, Sgr A*, has four million times the mass of the Sun.

The discovered supermassive black hole has a mass of 30 BILLION times the mass of our Sun

Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole that is the largest ever discovered and 8,000 times bigger than Sgr A*

“A spinning black hole is like a rocket on the launch pad,” said co-author Biny Sebastian from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada.

“Once material gets close enough, it’s as if someone fueled the rocket and pressed the ‘launch’ button.”

How fast a black hole spins can be an important source of energy by producing collimated outflows, but researchers have found that as the properties of the material and the strength of the magnetic field near Sgr A* change, ‘the black hole’s spin becomes more could drive powerful outflows.’

The material can be ejected by gas or by the remnants released when a star explodes if it gets too close to the black hole.

“We have a special view of Sgr A* because it is the closest supermassive black hole,” said co-author Anan Lu of McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

‘Although it is quiet now, our work shows that in the future it will give an incredibly powerful kick to the surrounding matter.

“That could happen in a thousand or a million years, but it could also happen in our lifetime.”