Astronomers Find Sagittarius A* Wind That Carved 3-Light-Year Cavity

Q: A three-light-year void was found at our galaxy's heart. Is this the first sign of the sleeping giant finally waking up?

No. The three-light-year void is strong evidence that Sagittarius A* is not dormant, but it is not a sign of a dramatic “waking up.” Astronomers say it points to a weak, steady outflow from the Milky Way’s central black hole during a quiet phase, not the start of a violent active episode. The key finding is a cone-shaped cavity in cold molecular gas near Sagittarius A*, mapped over five years with ALMA in Chile. Researchers say nearby stars could not have carved such a large, sharply defined gap. The cavity lines up with the black hole, and Chandra X-ray data show hot emission in the same region, strengthening the case that a hot wind from Sagittarius A* cleared it out. What makes the result important is that it resolves a decades-old puzzle. Supermassive black holes in other galaxies often show winds or jets that push energy into their surroundings, but Sagittarius A* had seemed unusually “windless.” This discovery shows it does produce outflows after all, even while remaining comparatively faint and calm. Researchers estimate the wind may have been operating for at least 20,000 years. That suggests long-term, low-level activity rather than a sudden change. Experts say this is valuable because most black holes spend much of their lives in such quiet states, and Sagittarius A* now offers a rare close-up example of how even a subdued black hole can still shape its environment and regulate gas around it.

2 articles · Updated · Букви · Jun 16

Five years of radio observations in Chile revealed a conical cavity about three light-years wide in cold gas around Sagittarius A*, giving astronomers their first strong evidence of a wind from the Milky Way’s central black hole.
Researchers said only a hot outflow from Sagittarius A* could have cleared that gap, even though the wind itself has not been directly seen.
Sagittarius A*—a roughly 4 million-solar-mass black hole—had long puzzled scientists because similar supermassive black holes in other galaxies show jets or broad winds, while ours appeared unusually quiet.
The finding suggests even a relatively calm supermassive black hole can still drive feedback that shapes surrounding gas, and the team now plans wider gas maps and a “mini-film” of motion near the hole.

Sources

Букви3h ago

Astronomers Detect Cosmic Wind from Sagittarius A* Carving Three Light-Year Cavity

CNN1d ago

Scientists Detect Cosmic Wind from Milky Way's Sagittarius A*, Solving 50-Year Mystery

Why does the newly found 'ghost wind' from our galaxy's quiet black hole challenge our understanding of how galaxies evolve?

A three-light-year void was found at our galaxy's heart. Is this the first sign of the sleeping giant finally waking up?

Discovery of a Powerful 3-Light-Year Wind from Sagittarius A*: Unveiling Black Hole Feedback at the Heart of the Milky Way

Overview

For over 50 years, scientists were puzzled by the lack of direct evidence for winds from Sagittarius A*, even though theory predicted such outflows from all actively feeding black holes. This long-standing enigma was finally resolved in June 2026, when a team led by Murchikova and Mark Gorski detected a powerful wind from Sagittarius A* using five years of data from the ALMA telescope. This breakthrough not only confirmed the existence of the wind but also marked a major advance in understanding how supermassive black holes shape their galactic environments.

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