[stratos]

I hope my grandchildren or great grandchildren get to visit or colonize one of these planets.

[DrCaleb]

$1:

Supermassive black hole binary discovered
The best candidate yet for a system of two SMBHs orbiting each other.

When galaxies collide, they tend to intermingle, ultimately forming a new, merged galaxy. And the supermassive black holes from the original galaxies’ cores should generally end up at the core of the new galaxy, according to current models. Some models predict that the two supermassive black holes could orbit each other, forming a black hole binary system. However, until recently, this has proved difficult to actually observe. Current instruments can’t resolve the difference between two supermassive black holes like these, which could be significantly less than a parsec apart.

But by using alternative methods, recent searches have found some promising candidates that could be supermassive black hole binary systems. In a new study, a team of researchers has reported a strong, clear signal from an extremely bright quasar that appears to be an example of a black hole binary. While this identification is still uncertain, the researchers conclude it’s the most plausible explanation of the behavior of that quasar.

Quasars

Quasars are simply extremely bright supermassive black holes, with the intense light originating from their jets and accretion disks. The jets, which emerge at each pole, are probably caused by their magnetic fields interacting with their spin and mass. The black hole also often has a disk of material falling in, called an accretion disk, that can produce a lot of light, since the infalling material is hot from friction.

If a quasar contained two black holes rather than one, detecting it would be tricky, since all these associated structures would interact. One way would be to look for quasars that are especially variable, meaning their intensity changes through a regular cycle. If there are indeed two black holes, their orbits could be causing the regular variations. The black holes’ jets would precess, meaning their orientations change over time in their orbits, explaining the variation. Perturbations in the holes’ accretion disks could also cause regular changes.


Two supermassive black holes, significantly farther apart (about 3000 light-years) than the two discussed in this article (about one-third of a light-year apart).

http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/01/ ... content%29

[stratos]

Dr.Caleb some of the things you post here leaves me in awe and wonder. My jaw sometimes hangs open while my mind ponders what the article says and the future implications.

Thank you so much for your efforts in finding these articles and posting them.

[Jabberwalker]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

$1:

Supermassive black hole binary discovered
The best candidate yet for a system of two SMBHs orbiting each other.

When galaxies collide, they tend to intermingle, ultimately forming a new, merged galaxy. And the supermassive black holes from the original galaxies’ cores should generally end up at the core of the new galaxy, according to current models. Some models predict that the two supermassive black holes could orbit each other, forming a black hole binary system. However, until recently, this has proved difficult to actually observe. Current instruments can’t resolve the difference between two supermassive black holes like these, which could be significantly less than a parsec apart.

But by using alternative methods, recent searches have found some promising candidates that could be supermassive black hole binary systems. In a new study, a team of researchers has reported a strong, clear signal from an extremely bright quasar that appears to be an example of a black hole binary. While this identification is still uncertain, the researchers conclude it’s the most plausible explanation of the behavior of that quasar.

Quasars

Quasars are simply extremely bright supermassive black holes, with the intense light originating from their jets and accretion disks. The jets, which emerge at each pole, are probably caused by their magnetic fields interacting with their spin and mass. The black hole also often has a disk of material falling in, called an accretion disk, that can produce a lot of light, since the infalling material is hot from friction.

If a quasar contained two black holes rather than one, detecting it would be tricky, since all these associated structures would interact. One way would be to look for quasars that are especially variable, meaning their intensity changes through a regular cycle. If there are indeed two black holes, their orbits could be causing the regular variations. The black holes’ jets would precess, meaning their orientations change over time in their orbits, explaining the variation. Perturbations in the holes’ accretion disks could also cause regular changes.


Two supermassive black holes, significantly farther apart (about 3000 light-years) than the two discussed in this article (about one-third of a light-year apart).

http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/01/ ... content%29

So, when a black hole collides, merges with another black hole ... ? Do singularities add up or are they by definition a only one?

[DrCaleb]

stratos stratos:

Dr.Caleb some of the things you post here leaves me in awe and wonder. My jaw sometimes hangs open while my mind ponders what the article says and the future implications.

Thank you so much for your efforts in finding these articles and posting them.

You are quite welcome, but I mostly post this stuff because the wonders of the Universe impress me too. And the neverending sense of our curiosity.

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

So, when a black hole collides, merges with another black hole ... ? Do singularities add up or are they by definition a only one?

Supermassive black holes just add up, and become a heavier supermassive black hole. 'Singularity' describes them physically; they take a single point in space. Larger black holes still take up the same physical space, they just pack more mass in that space.

Supermassive black hole binaries are just fascinating, because of the forces involved. Two gravitationally locked black holes start spinning, and they can be thousands or millions of times the mass of our sun - but they can rotate around each other hundreds of times per second before they merge! Imagine the rotational torque they have, but still are merging!

[DrCaleb]

Some fun from NASA, Travel posters for Super Earths'!







http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/media_c ... category=6

[Tyler_1]

I wouldn't mind relaxing on 16b, but I don't like the looks of the HD 40307 one. I am scared of heights.

[DrCaleb]

186f man! Mexican Red *errr* catnip!

[DrCaleb]

$1:

Astronomers Study Vanishing Neutron Star to Calculate Space-Time Warp (VIDEO)

Astronomers may have succeeding in measuring the space-time warp in the gravity of a binary star. They've managed to determine the mass of a neutron star just before it vanished from view in a race against time.

In this latest study, the researchers measured the masses of two stars in a binary pulsar system, called J1906. This pulsar spins and emits a lighthouse-like beam of radio waves every 144 milliseconds. In addition, it orbits its companion star in a little under four hours.

Neutron stars wobble like a spinning top as they move through the gravitational well of a massive, nearby companion star. Orbit after orbit, the pulsar travels through a space-time that is curved, which impacts the star's spin axis.

"By precisely tracking the motion of the pulsar, we were able to measure the gravitational interaction between the two highly compact stars with extreme precision," said Ingrid Stairs, one of the researchers, in a news release. "These two stars each weigh more than the sun, but are still over 100 times closer together than Earth is to the sun. The resulting extreme gravity causes many remarkable effects."

http://www.scienceworldreport.com/artic ... -video.htm

[stratos]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

186f man! Mexican Red *errr* catnip!

[Tyler_1]

Ohhhhhh

[DrCaleb]

$1:

Black Hole Fires at Neighboring Galaxy

This composite image shows the jet from a black hole at the center of a galaxy striking the edge of another galaxy, the first time such an interaction has been found. In the image, data from several wavelengths have been combined. X-rays from Chandra (colored purple), optical and ultraviolet (UV) data from Hubble (red and orange), and radio emission from the Very Large Array (VLA) and MERLIN (blue) show how the jet from the main galaxy on the lower left is striking its companion galaxy to the upper right. The jet impacts the companion galaxy at its edge and is then disrupted and deflected, much like how a stream of water from a hose will splay out after hitting a wall at an angle.

Each wavelength shows a different aspect of this system, known as 3C321. The Chandra X-ray image provides evidence that each galaxy contains a rapidly growing supermassive black hole at its center. Hubble's optical light images (orange) show the glow from the stars in each galaxy. A bright spot in the VLA and MERLIN radio image shows where the jet has struck the side of the galaxy - about 20,000 light years from the main galaxy - dissipating some of its energy. An even larger "hotspot" of radio emission detected by VLA (seen in an image with a much larger field-of-view) reveals that the jet terminates much farther away from the galaxy, at a distance of about 850,000 light years away. The Hubble UV image shows large quantities of warm and hot gas in the vicinity of the galaxies, indicating the supermassive black holes in both galaxies have had a violent past. Faint emission from Chandra, Hubble and Spitzer, not shown in this image, indicate that the galaxies are orbiting in a clockwise direction, implying that the companion galaxy is swinging into the path of the jet.



Animation of the collision, showing stars being blown out of the galaxy:

http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/3 ... sm_web.mpg

http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/3c321/

[ShepherdsDog]

God had a 'pull my finger' moment with one of the angels



DAAAAAAAAD!!

[2Cdo]

I think anytime someone starts to get the impression that they are so important, compared to the rest of us peons, they should have to view pictures and videos of the cosmos.

You can't help but feel small and insignificant against the vast expanse of space.

[DrCaleb]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

I think anytime someone starts to get the impression that they are so important, compared to the rest of us peons, they should have to view pictures and videos of the cosmos.

You can't help but feel small and insignificant against the vast expanse of space.

And also special and precious.