"Discovering that Sgr A* is rotating at its maximum speed has far-reaching implications for our understanding of black hole formation and the astrophysical processes associated with these fascinating cosmic objects," Xavier Calmet, a theoretical physicist at the University of Sussex who was not involved in the research, told Live Science in an email.Ī black hole's spin is different from those of other cosmic objects. 21 in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The team described Sgr A*'s blistering speed in a study published Oct. Daly, a physicist at Penn State, and colleagues found that the rotational speed of Sgr A* is between 0.84 and 0.96 - close to the top limit defined by a black hole's width. The spin speed of a black hole is defined as "a" and given a value from 0 to 1, with 1 being the maximum rotational speed to a particular black hole, which is a significant fraction of the speed of light. Physicists calculated the rotational speed of the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, called Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), by using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to view the X-rays and radio waves emanating from outflows of material. The supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy isn't just spinning - it's doing so at almost maximum speed, dragging anything near it along for the ride.
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