There is a supermassive object in the center of our Galaxy, and its name is Sagittarius A*. For decades scientists studied Sagittarius A* to learn about its true nature. Much like detectives, astronomers around the world carefully gathered evidence and discussed different theories. Finally, we created a virtual telescope with the size of the whole planet Earth - the Event Horizon Telescope, and used it to take pictures of the Galactic Center. These images, published in May 2022, are our best proof that Sagittarius A* is actually a giant black hole. In this talk I will discuss how our understanding of this object changed in time, how it became possible to take a picture of a black hole, and what makes us so confident about the true nature of the Sagittarius A*.

This public talk is a part of 31st Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics. Lecture is in (uncomplicated) English.

The talk will be given by dr. Maciek Wielgus, a Polish astrophysicist who together with the Event Horizon Telescope team published the first image of the M87* black hole in 2019, and recently the first image of Sagittarius A* -- the supermassive black hole in the center of our Galaxy. Together with the Event Horizon Telescope team he received many prestigious awards including the Albert Einstein medal, Bruno Rossi Prize, Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, and National Science Foundation Diamond Achievement Award.

Please register seats at https://texas2021.org/public-lecture