Black hole discovered with NSF support

At the center of our very own Milky Way galaxy, scientists long suspected that there was a supermassive black hole, and they named this black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*, pronounced "sadge-ay-star"). Thanks in part to US National Science Foundation support, their years of rigorous research confirmed their suspicions. On May 12, 2022, scientists released the first direct visual evidence of Sgr A*.

Because it's located at the center of the Milky Way, understanding how Sgr A* functions is fundamental to the larger goal of understanding how our galaxy formed and continues to evolve.