Breakthrough: Wind Discovered Emitting From Milky Way's Black Hole

WHO:

Space.com - Astronomers have discovered winds blowing from Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Yahoo - Lena Murchikova, a professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern University, is a co-leader of the study.

Yahoo - Mark Gorski, an astronomer at Northwestern University, is also a co-leader of the study.

WHAT:

Space.com - The discovery of powerful winds blowing from Sagittarius A* resolves a half-century-old mystery.

Yahoo - The winds from Sagittarius A* are described as more of a gentle breeze than a hurricane.

Yahoo - The researchers identified a vast conical cavity filled with hot, electrically charged gas adjacent to Sagittarius A*.

WHERE:

Yahoo - Sagittarius A* is located about 26,000 light-years from Earth.

WHEN:

Yahoo - The study detailing the discovery was published this week in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

WHY:

Yahoo - The energy needed to create the conical cavity could only be generated by a supermassive black hole.

HOW:

Yahoo - The discovery utilized data from the Chile-based ALMA telescope and NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Yahoo - The winds are generated as gas and other material spirals inward toward the black hole, reaching close to the speed of light, creating enough energy and pressure to hurl some of it outward.

(UPDATED June 5, 2026 21:23 UTC)

Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery of winds blowing from Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, resolving a mystery that has puzzled scientists for half a century. Co-led by Lena Murchikova and Mark Gorski from Northwestern University, the study reveals that these winds are more akin to a gentle breeze than a hurricane, originating from a vast conical cavity filled with hot, electrically charged gas located about 26,000 light-years from Earth. Utilizing data from the Chile-based ALMA telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, researchers found that these winds are generated as gas spirals inward toward the black hole, reaching near-light speeds and creating enough energy to propel some material outward.