Scientists find wind blowing from our Milky Way's black hole after half-century search: 'There it is'

A blue and orange splotchy scene.

After searching for 50 years, astronomers have finally discovered evidence of powerful winds blowing from Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy. The discovery represents a deepening of our understanding of the physics at play both around supermassive black holes and at the heart of the Milky Way.

Scientists have long proposed that black holes produce energy as they consume matter that pushes material away from their vicinity, a process which has been dubbed "black hole winds." That even applies to Sgr A*, which exists on a diet of gas and dust so meager For a human, the equivalent would be consuming one grain of rice every million years.