Three years after giving us the first-ever image of a black hole in another galaxy, the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration has turned its radio gaze closer to home. Today, they released the first direct image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the very centre of our own Milky Way galaxy.

Because Sgr A* is much smaller than the M87 black hole, the plasma swirling around it moves much faster, changing the image from minute to minute and making it incredibly difficult to capture. Seeing the glowing, doughnut-shaped ring of material framing the absolute darkness of our galaxy's central anchor is a deeply profound moment. Einstein's general relativity passes the test with flying colours once again.

Event Horizon Telescope - Astronomers Reveal First Image of the Black Hole at the Heart of Our Galaxy