Posted 08.20.2010 at 4:04 pm
16 Comments
M87 Black Hole Eruption
NASA/Chandra Observatory
At the heart of M87, the Virgo A galaxy, is one of the biggest black holes ever seen — about 6 billion times more massive than the sun. Scientists working with the Chandra X-ray telescope and the Very Large Array have compiled this nice new image of its insatiable appetite in action.
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Science, Rebecca Boyle, astronomy, black holes, chandra x ray, galaxy, radiation, space telescope, space telescope images, very large arrayThe red areas indicate radio wavelengths observed at the VLA. The hot gas also emits X-rays, which are indicated here in blue, as observed by the orbiting Chandra Observatory.
M87‘s brightness and loudness, as it were, make it a prime target for professional and amateur astronomers.
Bad Astronomer Phil Plait has a nice description of some of the forces at work here. But we think this is the prettiest black-hole belch we’ve seen in a while.
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Is it my Imagination or is there a face coming out of that hole!!!!
@mencom: Its your imagination at work
I wish they would say how big the event horizon is on this 6 billion sol monster
That sure IS a face! white hair and beard. its count dooku lol.
I saw the face immediately.
I find it weird that we continue to see faces and human forms in/on celestial bodies.
It's becoming more than a coincidence...
Nope it's just a coincidence. We see familiar things in random natural phenomenon all the time. It's what our brains do. Find patterns.
Magnificent.
Rotate it - it's Santa with his bag of goodies!!
@mencom:
It doesn't take a scientist to figure out that Chef Boyardee has become too powerful.
Interesting...
Its pure imagination. Mankind is conceided. Thats why we think god made us in his image. People see religouse figures in urin stains under an overpass or in sliced bread. Its just people seeing what they want to.
I don't see the face.
Crap!
I see my mother-in-law!
@caradoc01: The diameter of the event horizon is around 36 billion km. Three times the orbit of the Pluto.
creig speed:
Yes there is a face coming out of the hole and on top of the hole it looks like something with 2 legs 2 arms a body and a head with a wide brimmed hat is walking with it's feet just behind the head. I got 2 say though the more I look at that head its expression with the wide open mouth and the big forehead and the long slender shape of the face looks very anxious to say something important.
How far away is this thing . If this thing is 30 million light years away and we are just now seeing it the face is probably out and looking around for some trouble.
Clearly a woman.
its not a face, they are correct in saying that human psycology causes our brain to search for common images, and once a suggestion is made it becomes more obvious, the brain is more powerful than any technology we have, and it can create images from simple shapes and lights, even find a meaning in something random and completely meaningless.
having said that, this is one of the largest scientific phenomena I know of, the fact that so much energy is being released from the black hole that it creates a field like that is purely remarkable considering that light itself is unable to escape the field.