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The black hole in our galaxy is finally revealed

On Thursday 12 May, astronomers unveiled the first-ever image of the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. This is a breakthrough that sheds light not only on our understanding of these mysterious objects, but also on how our galaxy works.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has created a single image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A* for short, by combining thousands of images.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has created a single image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A* for short, by combining thousands of images.

© EHT Collaboration

It is an extraordinary image in many ways: on Thursday 12 May 2022, astronomers unveiled the very first image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Called Sagittarius A* and located about 27,000 light years from Earth, it is invisible in our sky. However, it has been observed thanks to the powerful Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which links eight existing radio telescopes around the world to form a single, huge virtual telescope about the size of the Earth.

More importantly, this image provides the first conclusive evidence that it is indeed a black hole, as previously assumed and as predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity. These groundbreaking observations will greatly improve our understanding of what happens at the centre of the Galaxy, and how black holes interact with their surroundings. Scientists also believe that most galaxies have a black hole at their centre, which makes this discovery all the more valuable.

This announcement follows the publication in 2019, already by the EHT collaboration, of the first ever image of a black hole in another galaxy called Messier 87. It was made possible by the ingenuity of more than 300 researchers from 80 institutes around the world, including scientists from the CNRS and in particular the Institute for Millimetre Wave Radio Astronomy (Iram), founded in 1979 by the CNRS and the German Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (Max-Planck Gesellschaft).

On the occasion of this extraordinary discovery, we invite you to learn more about black holes and the scientists and instruments that have made their exploration possible, through a selection of films and reports.

News Articles

Map of EHT Collaboration © ESO / M. Kornmesser

Read the new article about our Galaxy's black hole

© EHT Collaboration 2019

Read the article about the first image of a black hole

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The first part of this series on the most important research of 2020 is devoted to black holes. Astrophysicist, Nelson Christensen talks about the discovery from the ARTEMIS laboratory where he is working on the detection of gravitational waves and the observation of two stellar black holes merging into an intermediate black hole. Astrophysicist and 2020 CNRS Gold Medalist, Françoise Combes explains why it is essential to study large black holes, particularly "supermassive" black holes, to…

Nous voici au centre d’un amas de galaxies, dans l’Univers proche, simulé numériquement. Cet amas gigantesque de près de 200 000 années-lumière de diamètre baigne dans de grandes quantités de gaz brûlant. Au cours du temps, une partie de ce gaz finit par se refroidir ; il tombe alors sur un trou noir supermassif, tapis au cœur des galaxies. Alors que l’effondrement de ce gaz condensé devrait conduire à la formation de nouvelles étoiles, paradoxalement, il n’en est rien. Car le monstre cosmique…

Noema (Northern Extended Millimeter Array) is the most powerful radio telescope in the northern hemisphere and one of the largest facilities in Europe for astronomical research. Located on the Plateau de Bure in the French Alps at an altitude of 2 550 m, it is operated by the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM). Noema has reached its full sensitivity with the commissioning of its 12th antenna in 2022. This network of high precision radio antennas will allow new observations of the…

Simulation numérique d'un disque d'accrétion gazeux autour d'un trou noir. La forte courbure de l'espace déforme l'image du disque et permet d'en voir simultanément le dessus et le dessous. Un disque d'accrétion est produit lorsqu'un nuage de matière est transféré d'une étoile à l'autre (système binaire formé d'une étoile et d'un trou noir). Une certaine quantité de gaz, provenant de l'étoile, tombe lentement vers le trou noir, créant un halo très luminescent.

The physicists Alain Brillet and Thibault Damour receive awards for their major contributions to the detection of gravitational waves, first announced on 11th February 2016. Alain Brillet, an expert in stabilised lasers and a visionary in the development of gravitational wave detectors, is one of the fathers of Europe's Virgo instrument. The theoretical work of Thibault Damour, a specialist in black holes and gravitational waves, played a decisive role in the analysis of data from the…

The physicist Thibault Damour, joint winner of the CNRS 2017 Gold Medal, with Emmanuel Ulmo, Director of the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES) in Bures-sur-Yvette, in September 2017. This theorist, who has earned worldwide renown for his groundbreaking research on black holes, pulsars, gravitational waves and quantum cosmology, joined the CNRS in 1977, working at the Paris Observatory's Department of Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology. He has been a tenured professor at the…

The physicist Thibault Damour, joint winner of the CNRS 2017 Gold Medal, at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES) in Bures-sur-Yvette, in September 2017. This theorist, who has earned worldwide renown for his groundbreaking research on black holes, pulsars, gravitational waves and quantum cosmology, joined the CNRS in 1977, working at the Paris Observatory's Department of Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology. He has been a tenured professor at the IHES since 1989. Thibault…

Zoom sur une carte de l'Univers lointain en 3 dimensions, tel qu'il existait il y a 11 milliards d'années. Cette carte a été établie à partir de l'observation de 14 000 quasars réalisée grâce au relevé BOSS (Baryon oscillations spectroscopic survey). Les quasars sont des objets très lumineux dont l'énergie provient de trous noirs géants. Lorsque la lumière d'un quasar effectue son trajet vers la Terre, elle passe à travers des nuages de gaz d'hydrogène intergalactique, qui absorbent la lumière…

A l'occasion de sa médaille d'or 2017, décernée par le CNRS, Thibault Damour retrace son parcours. Physicien et théoricien, il entre au CNRS en 1977, au sein du département d'astrophysique relativiste et de cosmologie de l'observatoire de Paris. Ses travaux, menés sur les ondes gravitationnelles, ont permis la détection indirecte de ces ondes, dans les années 1980, et de façon directe plus récemment. Le 14 septembre 2015, les détecteurs de la collaboration LIGO-Virgo ont enregistré le passage…

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Masterstroke for physics: by detecting gravitational waves for the first time, the LIGO and Virgo collaborations were also first in observing a collision between two black holes, thus opening a new window to the Universe.

Astrophysicist Jean-Alain Marck gives a playful presentation of current hypotheses on the existence and nature of black holes, with numerous special effects.

Beware of danger! In the vastness of outer space there are disasters of an unimaginable violence like the fusions of black holes or the explosions of giant stars. Recently, astrophysicists have been able to detect the ultra-energy particles produced in these cosmic cataclysms. And learn more about the violent side of our universe.

It's hard not to be awed by black holes. Their attraction is so powerful that they "swallow" everything that passes within their reach, including light. This has astonishing consequences. For example, the stars that surround them are expected to draw rosettes in the sky according to theorists' predictions.

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The most reflective mirrors of the world are at the LMA laboratory (Laboratoire des Matériaux Avancés/laboratory of advanced materials) in Lyon. Up to two years is needed to integrate gravitational wave detectors like LIGO or VIGO. As key elements in these detectors, they are among the most accurate optical components ever produced in the world. Each of their processing steps must be conducted under stringent temperature, hygrometry and cleanliness conditions to reach the most perfect end…

A great explorer of the cosmos and a specialist in galaxies, Françoise Combes is an astrophysicist at the Laboratoire d'études du rayonnement et de la matière en astrophysique et atmosphères (Lerma; Paris Observatory - PSL/CNRS/Sorbonne University/Cergy-Pontoise University) and a professor at Collège de France. In 2020, she received the CNRS Gold Medal, one of the most prestigious French scientific distinctions, for her exceptional career and international influence. …

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Portrait de Alexandre Le Tiec, lauréat de la médaille de bronze 2019 du CNRS. Chercheur en astrophysique spécialisé dans la théorie de la gravitation au sein de l'équipe Relativité et objets compacts du laboratoire Univers et théories de l'Observatoire (DR05) de Paris.

En 2017, la Médaille d'or du CNRS a été décernée à Thibault Damour et Alain Brillet, dont les travaux respectifs ont permis la détection d'ondes gravitationnelles par les détecteurs LIGO le 14 septembre 2015. L'existence de ces infimes ondulations de l'espace-temps, décrites en 1915 par Albert Einstein dans sa Théorie de la relativité générale, n'avait jusqu'alors jamais pu être démontrée de facto. C'est en 1970 qu'Alain Brillet, alors récemment diplômé de l'ESPCI, entre au CNRS comme…

Instrumentation utilisée pour détecter le signal d’ondes gravitationnelles et contrôler l’interféromètre Virgo à Cascina près de Pise, en Italie. Cette instrumentation, composée notamment de caméras et photodiodes, est installée sur un banc optique. Une partie de l’électronique est embarquée et accrochée sous ce banc. Le chercheur est en train de brancher un câble pour mesurer le signal d’une photodiode. Dans le cadre du projet Advanced Virgo, l’instrumentation est placée sous vide pour l…

Structure complexe abritant l’instrumentation utilisée pour détecter le signal d’ondes gravitationnelles et contrôler l’interféromètre Virgo à Cascina près de Pise, en Italie. Cette instrumentation, installée sur un banc optique, se compose notamment de caméras et photodiodes. Dans le cadre du projet Advanced Virgo, elle est placée sous vide pour l’isoler des bruits acoustiques. Au milieu de la colonne, des atténuateurs contribuent à limiter les vibrations sismiques, isolant ainsi le banc…

Instrumentation utilisée pour détecter le signal d’ondes gravitationnelles et contrôler l’interféromètre Virgo à Cascina près de Pise, en Italie. La chercheuse est en train d’ajuster la position d’un miroir. Cette instrumentation, composée également de caméras et photodiodes, est installée sur un banc optique. Dans le cadre du projet Advanced Virgo, elle est placée sous vide pour l’isoler des bruits acoustiques. De plus, le banc optique est lui suspendu pour limiter les bruits sismiques, l…

Noema (Northern Extended Millimeter Array) is the most powerful radio telescope in the northern hemisphere and one of the largest facilities in Europe for astronomical research. Located on the Plateau de Bure in the French Alps at an altitude of 2 550 m, it is operated by the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM). Noema has reached its full sensitivity with the commissioning of its 12th antenna in 2022. This network of high precision radio antennas will allow new observations of the…

Noema (Northern Extended Millimeter Array) is the most powerful radio telescope in the northern hemisphere and one of the largest facilities in Europe for astronomical research. Located on the Plateau de Bure in the French Alps at an altitude of 2 550 m, it is operated by the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM). Noema has reached its full sensitivity with the commissioning of its 12th antenna in 2022. This network of high precision radio antennas will allow new observations of the…

Noema (Northern Extended Millimeter Array) is the most powerful radio telescope in the northern hemisphere and one of the largest facilities in Europe for astronomical research. Located on the Plateau de Bure in the French Alps at an altitude of 2 550 m, it is operated by the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM). Noema has reached its full sensitivity with the commissioning of its 12th antenna in 2022. This network of high precision radio antennas will allow new observations of the…

Salle blanche de l'IRAM (Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique) à Grenoble. Pour la fabrication et le développement des jonctions supraconductrices, l'IRAM entretient son propre laboratoire de micro et nanotechnologie. Gros plan sur une tranche de quartz, substrat de base du composant supra, utilisée dans la fabrication de jonctions supraconductrices, éléments-clés des systèmes de réception des signaux astronomiques.

Interféromètre de l'Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimétrique (IRAM), situé sur le plateau de Bure, vu du ciel. Cet observatoire, le plus sensible dans le domaine des longueurs d'onde millimétriques, est situé dans les Hautes-Alpes françaises à 2 550 mètres d'altitude. Deux longs rails, placés sur des axes nord-sud et est-ouest permettent de changer la disposition des 6 antennes de 15 mètres de diamètre sur une distance maximale de 760 mètres.

L'interféromètre du Plateau de Bure vu du ciel. Cet observatoire, le plus sensible dans le domaine des longueurs d'onde millimétriques, est situé dans les Hautes-Alpes françaises, à 2 550 mètres d'altitude. Deux longs rails, placés sur des axes nord-sud et est-ouest permettent de changer la disposition des antennes sur une distance maximale de 760 mètres.

Noema (Northern Extended Millimeter Array) is the most powerful radio telescope in the northern hemisphere and one of the largest facilities in Europe for astronomical research. Located on the Plateau de Bure in the French Alps at an altitude of 2 550 m, it is operated by the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM). Noema has reached its full sensitivity with the commissioning of its 12th antenna in 2022. This network of high precision radio antennas will allow new observations of the…

Noema (Northern Extended Millimeter Array) is the most powerful radio telescope in the northern hemisphere and one of the largest facilities in Europe for astronomical research. Located on the Plateau de Bure in the French Alps at an altitude of 2 550 m, it is operated by the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM). Noema has reached its full sensitivity with the commissioning of its 12th antenna in 2022. This network of high precision radio antennas will allow new observations of the…

Only available for non-commercial distribution

NOEMA (NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array) is the most powerful millimetre radio telescope in the northern hemisphere. Located on the Bure plateau, in the Hautes-Alpes, the observatory will eventually consist of 12 antennae that will form a single large radio telescope capable of revealing the invisible thanks to interferometry. Equipped with a new generation of receivers and electronics, these antennas will be able to capture the coldest light emitted by the universe, around 250°C. The…

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