How big is a galactic black hole? And how to accurately measure? Or the VLBI radio microscope made t

Mondo Science Updated on 2024-02-04

At the center of our galaxy, there is a supermassive black hole hidden. This black hole is four million times the size of the Sun and has a mass of 50 million Suns. It's like a super magnet that attracts the surrounding stars to spin.

To understand such a huge celestial body, we need to use some advanced scientific and technological means. The most commonly used tool is the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) radio telescope. This is a special astronomical observation technique that achieves very precise measurements of position and motion by connecting different telescopes distributed around the world and using their time differences.

Scientists have used this technique to conduct in-depth research on galactic black holes. They first identified a reference point, then calculated the distances of multiple telescopes, and finally entered these distances into a computer for processing, and then obtained information such as the exact location, shape, and size of the galactic black hole.

In practice, due to the influence of the Earth's rotation, there will be certain differences in the data received at different times, so multiple observations are required to obtain more reliable results. At the same time, it is also necessary to consider factors such as atmospheric refraction and interstellar media interference, which are important factors affecting the accuracy of observation.

After a series of complex calculations and analyses, scientists have finally come up with the approximate dimensions of the galactic black hole: about 26 light-years in diameter and with a mass of about four million suns. That's a staggering number, enough to imagine how powerful it is.

Although we cannot directly observe the galactic black hole, we can infer its existence through the analysis of the trajectory of the surrounding objects and other relevant data. The success of this research once again proves the powerful capabilities of the VLBI radio telescope and provides new possibilities for further exploration of the universe.

The galactic black hole is a mysterious being, and although we don't yet fully understand all of its properties, we have made some important progress. With the development of science and technology, it is believed that in the future, we will have more information about this huge black hole and uncover more scientific mysteries.

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