Cancel

gear Push settings

bars

homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Get a glimpse of a black hole's fury

  Recently, a team of researchers (with the help of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and a host of international telescope partners) have managed to get the clearest observation yet of the “core” of a black hole. A black hole is a region of space in which the gravitational field […]

Mihai Andrei
April 24, 2008 @ 1:56 am

share Share

 

black hole

Recently, a team of researchers (with the help of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and a host of international telescope partners) have managed to get the clearest observation yet of the “core” of a black hole.

A black hole is a region of space in which the gravitational field is so powerful that nothing, not even light, can escape its pull after having fallen past its event horizon.From what they could observe, astronomers drew the conclusion that there is a strong evidence of enormous jets of particles emitted by supermassive black holes, which are in fact corkscrewed in a way predicted by theory. The researchers reported their findings in the April 24 issue of Nature.

Also, they believe that the coiling is a result of twisted magnetic fields acting on the particle streams. The black hole was in the BL Lacertae galaxy, which 950 million light years from Earth.

The study was conducted by Alan Marscher of Boston University. More data and interesting stuff here.

share Share

Quakes on Mars Could Support Microbes Deep Beneath Its Surface

A new study finds that marsquakes may have doubled as grocery deliveries.

Pregnancy in Space Sounds Cool Until You Learn What Could Go Wrong

Growing a baby in space sounds like science fiction. Here’s why it might stay that way.

Astronomers Spotted a Ghostly Star Orbiting Betelgeuse and Its Days Are Already Numbered

A faint partner explains the red giant's mysterious heartbeat.

Our Radar Systems Have Accidentally Turned Earth into a Giant Space Beacon for the Last 75 Years and Scientists Say Aliens Could Be Listening

If aliens have a radio telescope, they already know we exist.

For the First Time Ever We Can See Planets Starting to Form Around a Star

JWST and ALMA peered through a natural opening in the star’s surrounding cloud to catch the action up close.

Scientists just figured out how to turn moon dirt into water and oxygen just using sunlight

Scientists find a way to turn moon regolith into water, air, and fuel…and that could change space travel.

NASA finally figures out what's up with those "Mars spiders"

They're not actual spiders, of course, but rather strange geological features.

Scientists Discover 9,000 Miles of Ancient Riverbeds on Mars. The Red Planet May Have Been Wet for Millions of Years

A new look at Mars makes you wonder just how wet it really was.

Scientists Are Racing to Reach a Mysterious World Before It Disappears for 11,000 Years

In 2076, Sedna will make a once-in-11,400-year close pass near the Sun.

Earth Is Spinning Faster Than Usual. Scientists Aren’t Sure Why

Shorter days ahead as Earth's rotation speeds up unexpectedly.