Sagittarius A*
Where is Sagittarius A*?
Low in the southwest, at most 3° up around 20:20 in Sagittarius.
- Rises
- 14:42
- Highest
- 17:50
- Sets
- 20:58
- Best after dark
- 20:20 · 3°
Can I see Sagittarius A*?
No. A black hole gives off no light of its own that you could see. What you can do is look toward it.
From London tonight, the direction of Sagittarius A* stays low while the sky is dark: at best 3° above the southwest horizon around 20:20. You’ll need a clear, flat view in that direction.
When is it highest?
Its part of the sky is highest in the evening, around 10 pm, in July.
It crosses the meridian, its highest point, at 17:50, 10° up, in daylight or twilight. Times for London.
What can you see in this direction?
Eyes
Direction onlyThe black hole isn’t visible. Under dark skies, the Milky Way is brightest and widest in this direction.
Binoculars
Sweep the star clouds of Sagittarius. The Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae are nearby.
Telescope
The black hole can’t be seen with any telescope that uses visible light. The area is full of clusters and nebulae to explore instead.
About
Sagittarius A* is the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, about 26,000 light-years away. It has about four million times the mass of the Sun.
Its existence was confirmed by watching stars whirl around an invisible object at the galactic center for decades. That work earned a share of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics.
In 2022, the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration released the first image of Sagittarius A*, showing a glowing ring of hot gas around the black hole’s shadow. The image was made with radio telescopes across the planet.
You can’t see the black hole, and its light is hidden by dust. But you can look toward it: it lies behind the bright star clouds of the Milky Way in Sagittarius.
One star, called S2, orbits Sagittarius A* every 16 years, passing less than a light-day from it. Tracking its path has allowed precise tests of Einstein’s theory of gravity.
Visible nearby
Questions
Can I see Sagittarius A*?
Is the black hole dangerous to Earth?
How was it photographed?
Sources: SkyMate; star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences