How do we know the shape of our galaxy and the supermassive black hole exists at center ?

Ronald 7

We got telescopes, right We can look everywhere

cosmo

Our knowledge of the Milky Way as a whole is primary from radio spectroscopy, which can see the whole galaxy through the dust and can measure the velocity of the material and thereby determine its orbit. We then reason by analogy with other spiral galaxies which we can see as a whole from the outside. The Milky Way is much like M31, which we can see as a whole, and which can also be observed by radio spectroscopy. We know about the central black hole from infrared imaging of stars in orbit around it, and there are efforts to image the accretion disk around the Black Hole using submillimeter-wave very long baseline interferometry.

nineteenthly

The shape of this galaxy is in fact quite uncertain for that reason, but not entirely. It's a barred spiral.

Clive

Obviously a telescope within the galaxy can't. But we can deduce its shape and our place in it by observing where the grouping of stars is densest. And it now seems clear that all large galaxies have a big black hole at the centre. Ours is no different.

CarolOklaNola

We know the shape of the Milky Way Galaxy because we can stick images together and make a photomosaic. Its kind of like you making a a map from a video of your of your house or apartment. But you would also need a floor plan. Get on Google Earth. You might be able to tell where two images have been stuck together because the angle of the Sun is slightly different and the colors of the pixels are slightly different. You will need to zoom in a lot. We know there is a supermassive black hole because of the motions of the stars and other galaxies in the Local Group over time. The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy.

Dixon

We can see enough to tell we are in a spiral arm and most of the rest is inferred from looking at other spiral galaxies and certain measurements we can take of our galaxy from here.

Luke

We can't see black holes they are invisible. You can't ever look and see one, they work out the black holes location becuase it's an area where basically lots of mass and light being sucked pulled into one area. You can't see a black hole. The shape of the galaxy I'm not sure what you mean what shape is it? I thought our galaxy was everything that was rotating around our sun. I'm not sure what shape of it means, Hope I helped.