Black Hole Predicted to Be Crescent-Shaped

A huge black hole thought to exist at the centre our galaxy has been predicted to be crescent-shaped by astronomers.

The black hole has never been directly seen; they are invisible (as nothing, including light, can escape them), but can be detected by observing a phenomenon known as Hawking radiation, which occurs on the boundary of the hole and the rest of space.

They are usually predicted to be a round shape, but Sagittarius A*, a black hole in the middle of our Milky Way, is expected to be crescent-shaped instead. Scientists at the University of California are preparing to interpret photos that will become available from telescopes which are currently under construction, and have formulated this "expected" image to help them.

If they find a couple of round ones next to it, they could make a face. That's probably the sort of thing they do at NASA isn't it?

Image: Rex Features