Lead author Valentina Crespi said the dense dark matter core can mimic the 'shadow' seen in black hole images because it bends light strongly, creating a central darkness surrounded by a bright ring.
Notes on verification
Quote verified verbatim across multiple independent outlets including the Royal Astronomical Society's own press release, the study's publisher, confirming Crespi's authorship and statement. [cascade flags: aggregator_dropped_primary_exists | tier=silver indep_score=0.83 clusters=5 claim_tier=notable | framework convergence=single on Royal Astronomical Society official press release quoting Crespi (upstreams: Royal Astronomical Society press release, MNRAS paper by V. Crespi et al. (2026)) — publishers independent, evidence may not be | kind=attributed eligibility=high]
Sources
- Scientists thought there was a black hole at the centre of our Galaxy. It turns out it may be something even stranger | BBC Sky at Night Magazine (seed:space_and_astronomy)
- https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights/dark-matter-not-black-hole-could-power-milky-ways-heart (corroboration)
- https://www.sci.news/astronomy/milky-ways-compact-object-fermionic-dark-matter-14537.html (corroboration)
- https://earthsky.org/space/dark-matter-not-black-hole-at-core-milky-way/ (corroboration)
- https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-dense-clump-of-dark-matter-not-a-supermassive-black-hole-could-reside-in-the-milky-ways-center (corroboration)
- https://thedebrief.org/this-is-a-pivotal-point-astronomers-offer-new-evidence-of-dark-matter-lurking-at-the-heart-of-the-milky-way/ (corroboration)