Posted on 02/18/2016 10:44:57 AM PST by LibWhacker
A new photograph of galaxy NGC 4889 may look peaceful from such a great distance, but it’s actually home to one of the biggest black holes that astronomers have ever identified. The Hubble Space Telescope allowed scientists to capture photos of the galaxy, located in the Coma Cluster about 300 million light-years away. The supermassive black hole hidden away in NGC 4889 breaks all kinds of records, even though it is currently classified as dormant.
So how big is it, exactly? Well, according to our best estimates, the supermassive black hole is roughly 21 billion times the size of the Sun, and its event horizon (an area so dense and powerful that light can’t escape its gravity) measures 130 billion kilometers in diameter. That’s about 15 times the diameter of Neptune’s orbit around the Sun, according to scientists at the Hubble Space Telescope. At one point, the black hole was fueling itself on a process called hot accretion. Space stuff like gases, dust, and galactic debris fell towards the black hole and created an accretion disk. Then that spinning disk of space junk, accelerated by the strong gravitational pull of the largest known black hole, emitted huge jets of energy out into the galaxy.
Related: Scientists just saw light coming from around a black hole for the first time
During that active period, NGC 4889 would have classified as a quasar (quasi-stellar radio source) thanks to the black hole’s emissions of up to a thousand times more energy than our Milky Way galaxy. But the black hole is now in dormant mode because there isn’t any more sustenance stored in the orbiting accretion disk. “The accretion disk sustained the supermassive black hole’s appetite until the nearby supply of galactic material was exhausted. Now, napping quietly as it waits for its next celestial snack, the supermassive black hole is dormantâ€, says the Hubble Space Telescope website.
Of course, the announcement posted with new photos of the NGC 4889 galaxy is quick to point out that the pictures don’t exactly capture the likeness of the supermassive black hole. It is impossible to observe a black hole directly, but scientists have been able to identify the implied presence of a black hole by analyzing the way celestial objects interact with some invisible force. For this particular black hole in the NGC 4889 galaxy, scientists used instruments on the Keck II Observatory and the Gemini North Telescope to measure the velocity of stars moving around the center point of the galaxy. The stars’ specific velocities re what allowed scientists to calculate the incredible size of NGC 4889’s black hole.
I didn’t realize they could get that close to Moochelle...
Is Ol’ Crusty back?
PIAPS is not looking too healthy lately.
The coughing fit (twice) is a sign of pneumococcal pneumonia
If she is not treated she will be in the hospital soon
Sure you can, since Isaac Newton invented gravity.
But you need a special camera that bends light.
Don’t be vulgar. :-b
Is that a picture of where our tax money goes?
ACME has one, and long ago perfected shaving circles off of it for their renowned portable holes.
All holes matter.
“That said, I still insist scientists are grossly underestimating the mass of black holes in general.”
They’ve got no solid scientific grounds to estimate the mass at all really. They can’t solve three-body problems in our own solar system, so there is no way they can actually predict the effects in a galaxy with tens of thousands of star systems, and their reliance on “dark matter” shows they are missing some important elements to the equations altogether.
I think that’ s in the Metropolitian Museum of Art!
Oh, thousands upon thousands of picture have been taken of DC.
Oh look! It’s where they put the Social Security money!
It does seem that any great accumulation of fiat currency in one place with no accountability for how it is disposed of does abolish the laws of finance in favor of madness.
Exactly right.
bump for later. this thread has comedy gold potential.
Wow that is YYUUGGEEE!!!
It promises unlimited free energy for all. In 300 million years. That may affect my decision purchase on a wood stove...
"Guys, she needs her rest; she's got a flu. And it wasn't THAT big. And I did take one photo that night but I don't know where it is."
LMAO!!
That’s what happens when you forget to take the lens cover off.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.