Dust and magnetic fields: NASA/SOFIA | NASA

Magnetic Field May Be Keeping Milky Way’s Black Hole Quiet | NASA

Streamlines showing magnetic fields layered over a color image of the dusty ring around the Milky Way’s massive black hole. The Y-shaped structure is warm material falling toward the black hole, which is located near where the two arms of the Y-shape intersect. The streamlines reveal that the magnetic field closely follows the shape of the dusty structure. Each of the blue arms has its own field that is totally distinct from the rest of the ring, shown in pink.

Credits: Dust and magnetic fields: NASA/SOFIA; Star field image: NASA/Hubble Space Telescope