Would we be able to see our galaxy’s black hole from a bird’s-eye view?

If we were able to send a spacecraft into a position to grab a bird’s-eye picture of our galaxy, would we able to see Sagittarius A*?

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Even if we were able to get a bird’s-eye view of our galaxy, we still wouldn’t be able to directly see Sagittarius A* since it emits wavelengths that are undetectable to the human eye, such as those in X-ray. Image Credit: NASA

Even if we were able to get a bird’s-eye view of our galaxy, we still wouldn’t be able to directly see Sagittarius A* since it emits wavelengths that are undetectable to the human eye, such as those in X-ray. Image Credit: NASA

Asked by Shaun Davies

Even if we were able to send a spacecraft into a position to take a bird’s-eye picture of our galaxy, we still wouldn’t be able to see its black hole.

Sagittarius A* is a very bright and compact radio source. It is believed to be a supermassive black hole – something we think is at the centre of most galaxies. By definition we can only ever indirectly view a black hole as no visible light is emitted from them – only wavelengths, which are invisible to the human eye such as those in radio and X-ray wavelengths. On top of this, a spacecraft would have to travel an unimaginable distance above the Milky Way to give us a bird’s-eye view. So, for now, we are only able to peer through the dust at the centre of our host galaxy with today’s telescopes.

Answered by Josh Barker from the National Space Centre

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