Observation and Description
Astronomers have been unable to observe Sgr A* in the optical spectrum because of the effect of 25 magnitudes of extinction between the source and Earth. Several teams of researchers have attempted to image Sagittarius A* in the radio spectrum using Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). The current highest-resolution measurement, made at a wavelength of 1.3 mm, indicated an angular diameter for the source of 37 μas. At a 26,000 light-year distance, this yields a diameter of 44 million kilometers. For comparison, the Earth is 150 million kilometers from the Sun, and Mercury is 46 million kilometers from the Sun at its perihelion. The proper motion of Sgr A* is approximately −2.70 mas per year for the right ascension and −5.6 mas per year for the declination.
Read more about this topic: Sagittarius A*
Famous quotes containing the words observation and/or description:
“That observation which is called knowledge of the world will be found much more frequently to make men cunning than good.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“I fancy it must be the quantity of animal food eaten by the English which renders their character insusceptible of civilisation. I suspect it is in their kitchens and not in their churches that their reformation must be worked, and that Missionaries of that description from [France] would avail more than those who should endeavor to tame them by precepts of religion or philosophy.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)