Astrophysics, Relativity, and Cosmology Seminar - Sara Issaoun (Harvard, CfA) "Unraveling the mysteries of our Milky Way black hole Sagittarius A*"
- Sponsor
- Department of Physics
- Speaker
- Sara Issaoun (Harvard, CfA)
- Contact
- Deanna Frye
- ddebord@illinois.edu
- Views
- 37
- Originating Calendar
- Physics - Astrophysics, Relativity, and Cosmology Seminar
In 2022 and 2024, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration revealed the first images of the shadow of our Milky Way supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), in total intensity and in polarization. Since its detection in the mid-70s, this bright radio source in the Galactic Center was shrouded in a veil of mystery. The Nobel-awarded stellar orbits research in the Galactic Center pinned down its mass and distance, showing evidence of an extremely compact 4 million-solar-mass object at the heart of our Galaxy. The EHT then provided the first direct evidence that this object is indeed a black hole and resolved its shadow for the first time. In this talk, I will explain the challenges of imaging Sgr A*, how these challenges were overcome with the EHT, and future prospects for making new discoveries about our Milky Way black hole with radio observations.