An X-ray nova lit up the sky enough for NASA's Swift satellite to spot it.
Posted 10.08.2012 at 1:00 pm
2 Comments
New Black Hole
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
We could say NASA has just discovered a never-before-seen black hole, but it might also be true to say a new black hole just threw up signal flares and shouted at us to discover it.
A rare X-ray nova--a release of X-ray energy--was first caught by NASA's Swift telescope in September. Scientists focused in on it and unraveled a story: the black hole formed a binary system with a nearby star, sucking in gas, then eventually releasing it. It's a rare event--the first one the Swift satellite has ever seen.
It's hard to tell exactly how far away the black hole is, but NASA's estimates peg it at between 20,000 and 30,000 light years away. See the full explainer on it below.
[NASA]
2 Comments
To comment, please Login.
Popular Tags
Science
140 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.
Popular Science+ For iPad
Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page
Download Our App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
April 2013: How It Works
For our annual How It Works issue, we break down everything from the massive Falcon Heavy rocket to a tiny DNA sequencer that connects to a USB port. We also take a look at an ambitious plan for faster-than-light travel and dive into the billion-dollar science of dog food.
Plus the latest Legos, Cadillac's plug-in hybrid, a tractor built for the apocalypse, and more.
Popular on Popsci
Most Commented
Science
- SCOTUS Justices Can’t Find Science On Same-Sex Marriage
- Over Time, Nuclear Power Would Kill Fewer People Than Petroleum
- Something Is Killing Up To Half Of America's Bees
- Solar Panels Now Make More Electricity Than They Use
- This Is Now The World's Lightest Material
- Speed Of Light In Vacuum Is Not Actually Constant, Study Finds
- Melting Glaciers Are Increasing Extent Of Sea Ice In Antarctica, Says Counterintuitive Study
- This Weird Green Rock Is From Mercury
- Climate Change Belongs In Classrooms, Say New National Science Education Guidelines
- Scientists Engineer Extreme Microorganisms To Make Fuel From Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
Most Emailed
Science
- What Part Of This Scene Is Made Of Lego? And Other Amazing Images
- Why Dudes Who Can't Smell Never Get Laid
- How The World Will End, According To 1939
- Super-Realistic Lego Objects And Other Amazing Images From This Week
- Cthulhu Lives In The Gut Of A Termite
- FYI: Do Lobotomies Work?
- This Amazing, Zoomable Universe-In-A-Browser Puts Everything In Perspective
- BeerSci: Want To Wet-Hop Your Beer? Grow Your Own Fresh Hops
- You Have A 'Breathprint'
- Today On Mars: Watch Curiosity's Parachute Flap Around In The Wind
Most Viewed
Science
- What Part Of This Scene Is Made Of Lego? And Other Amazing Images
- Why Dudes Who Can't Smell Never Get Laid
- How The World Will End, According To 1939
- Super-Realistic Lego Objects And Other Amazing Images From This Week
- Cthulhu Lives In The Gut Of A Termite
- FYI: Do Lobotomies Work?
- This Amazing, Zoomable Universe-In-A-Browser Puts Everything In Perspective
- BeerSci: Want To Wet-Hop Your Beer? Grow Your Own Fresh Hops
- You Have A 'Breathprint'
- Today On Mars: Watch Curiosity's Parachute Flap Around In The Wind
Online Content Director: Suzanne LaBarre | Email
Senior Editor: Paul Adams | Email
Associate Editor: Dan Nosowitz | Email
Assistant Editor: Colin Lecher | Email
Assistant Editor:Rose Pastore | Email
Contributing Writers:
Rebecca Boyle | Email
Kelsey D. Atherton | Email
Francie Diep | Email
Shaunacy Ferro | Email
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2012 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Our space is beautiful and interesting
One more reason to move faster with inter stellar travel, and hopefully galactic travel. We may one day need to jump ship, especially with Andromeda galaxy supposedly supposed to gobble the Milky-way in 4 billion years. At least we would still have 1 billion years after that before our sun would super nova. But then again it is most likely our planet will either be whipped off into the darkness of space or smashed to bitty bits and consumed by other stellar bodies. Of course there is that 1 in a trillion trillions chance that the earth will just get a new orbital position and survive.
Now watching Andromeda's Super Massive Black-hole eat the tiny Milky-way's black-hole would be a beautiful site to see.