Gli astronomi hanno osservato la fugace apparizione di una bolla di gas che viaggiava a velocità "sbalorditive" intorno al buco nero al centro della nostra galassia, la Via Lattea.
Il radiotelescopio ALMA, in Cile, ha rilevato un segnale "molto sorprendente" nei dati di Sagittarius A*, ha dichiarato all'AFP l'astrofisico Maciek Wielgus, dell'Istituto tedesco Max Planck.
La bolla ha compiuto un'orbita completa del buco nero in soli 70 minuti, una velocità equivalente al 30% di quella della luce (300’000 km al secondo).
Il fenomeno è di origine magnetica, secondo lo scienziato. Il campo magnetico del buco nero è così forte da impedire l'assorbimento di parte della materia che circola intorno ad esso. Ma l’accumulo di materia porta a una "eruzione di flusso", che viola il campo magnetico e rilascia un'esplosione di energia, sotto forma di bolla di gas, secondo l'astrofisico.
L'osservazione di questi campi magnetici dovrebbe aiutarci a capire come funzionano i buchi neri e potrebbero anche indicare la velocità con cui ruotano su sé stessi.
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