#ICYMI: A recent #EHT image reveals strong magnetic fields spiraling from Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at our galaxy’s center. These fields resemble those around the M87 galaxy’s black hole, suggesting commonality among black holes. A hidden jet in Sagittarius A* is also hinted at.
In polarized light, a side-by-side image of supermassive black holes M87* and Sagittarius A* reveals similar magnetic field structures. This suggests universal features governing how black holes feed and launch jets.
ICYMI: I posted my first weekly space news roundup Friday! None this week because I'm still recovering from the flu, but I'm planning on making this a regular thing.
My first weekly roundup of #space news is here, Ad Astra Weekly!! Everything from the latest JWST images to what’s going on up at the ISS. If you like what you see, a (free!) subscribe would mean the world to me:
GJ 9827d, an exoplanet just spotted by Hubble, is no larger than twice the size of Earth and may possess a water-rich atmosphere - but temperatures there go over 800°F, similar to Venus. So, an incredibly steamy place. (The discovery is remarkable because GJ 9827d is currently the smallest exoplanet where such a discovery has been made.)
Further to #SpaceNews which seems to be bubbling today, I see #RocketLab has won a half-billion-dollar USgov contract to build and launch 18 satellites. Their shares have popped 25% or so on the news.
Russia’s unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft, which was Russia’s first lunar mission since 1976, has crashed on the surface of the moon following a technical glitch.
The event was described as the result of an “abnormal situation” involving the lander’s engines that began yesterday.