First Black Hole Photographed

[SlammedZero]

Scientists today released the first ever image of a black hole. I'm really surprised this isn't generating more buzz!! This is the first direct visual evidence that black holes exist. This is huge! The visual confirmation of this black hole acts as confirmation of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. Black holes are virtually invisible, since light cannot escape them to be photographed, but here you can see the heated materials in the form of plasma. These surround the black hole and emit light and allow the event horizon to be visible.

This black hole is located in a galaxy named Messier 87 (or M87). This massive galaxy is near the Virgo galaxy cluster 55 million light-years from Earth. The supermassive black hole has a mass that is 6.5 billion times that of our sun. In their attempt to capture an image of the black hole, scientists combined the power of eight radio telescopes around the world. This effectively creates a virtual telescope around the same size as the Earth itself.

 

[Runwildboys]

Scientists today released the first ever image of a black hole. I'm really surprised this isn't generating more buzz!! This is the first direct visual evidence that black holes exist. This is huge! The visual confirmation of this black hole acts as confirmation of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. Black holes are virtually invisible, since light cannot escape them to be photographed, but here you can see the heated materials in the form of plasma. These surround the black hole and emit light and allow the event horizon to be visible.

This black hole is located in a galaxy named Messier 87 (or M87). This massive galaxy is near the Virgo galaxy cluster 55 million light-years from Earth. The supermassive black hole has a mass that is 6.5 billion times that of our sun. In their attempt to capture an image of the black hole, scientists combined the power of eight radio telescopes around the world. This effectively creates a virtual telescope around the same size as the Earth itself.

Or it's an orange glaze donut.

Seriously, I find it hard to believe this hasn't been national news. Maybe they want to wait until they can convince even the most skeptical?

This is awesome, BTW!!

 

[YosemiteSam]

Or it's an orange glaze donut.

Seriously, I find it hard to believe this hasn't been national news. Maybe they want to wait until they can convince even the most skeptical?

This is awesome, BTW!!

It's been all over my news feeds for the last week or two. (well leading up to it) They just released it today, but it's been known it was going to be released for a at least 10 days or so.

The funny thing is, you aren't actually seeing a blackhole. (it's black, because no light escapes it! You need light to actually see something!) You're seeing the accretion disk around the feeding blackhole.

 

[DFWJC]

I saw this last night...or maybe on Monday. Pretty epic stuff.

Just by observing it in the news David Irving is now located somewhere in the Andromeda Galaxy.

 

[Runwildboys]

It's been all over my news feeds for the last week or two. (well leading up to it) They just released it today, but it's been known it was going to be released for a at least 10 days or so.

The funny thing is, you aren't actually seeing a blackhole. (it's black!) You're seeing the accretion disk around the feeding blackhole.

I think everyone who sees this knows that, considering that light can't escape. This is the first I've heard of the project.

 

[SlammedZero]

It's been all over my news feeds for the last week or two. (well leading up to it) They just released it today, but it's been known it was going to be released for a at least 10 days or so.

The funny thing is, you aren't actually seeing a blackhole. (it's black, because no light escapes it! You need light to actually see something!) You're seeing the accretion disk around the feeding blackhole.

It's around in the news but it sure doesn't seem to be a huge deal, and, it should be. This is a gigantic leap in terms of a new era in astrophysics. I've seen more commanding headlines about Magic Johnson stepping down from the Lakers than I have of this.

 

[DFWJC]

Just by hearing about this--not even observing it--Antonio Cromartie spontaneously fertilized 27 other earth-like planets.

 

[YosemiteSam]

As noted, this black hole exist in the galaxy of M87 (Messier 87) Here is a Hubble Space Telescope image of it and some details about the image.

About this image
Astronomers find that the supermassive black hole at the center of the most massive local galaxy (M87) is not where it was expected. Their research, conducted using the Hubble Space Telescope, concludes that the supermassive black hole in M87 is displaced from the galaxy center.

At right is a large-scale image of galaxy M87 taken in 1998 with Hubble's Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2. The two images at left show an image taken in 2006 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The position of the supermassive black hole is indicated by the black dot in the lower left panel, and a knot in the jet (HST-1), which was flaring in 2006, is also indicated on this panel. The red dot indicates the center of the galaxy's light distribution, which is offset from the position of the black hole by about 22 light-years.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Here is a wider field image of M87.

Just to be clear. The accretion disk I was talking about happens during a feeding black hole. Not only do you get the disk, but you get a massive jet that you see in these two images I've posted. As matter falls in, some of it gets fired out at almost the speed of light from the side of the black hole.

While it looks just like glowing light that makes up the galaxy. That's actually stars and dust. They are just so far away that you can't make out the stars. The stars you do see in this image are either other far off galaxies or they are in our local galaxy.

 

[Runwildboys]

As noted, this black hole exist in the galaxy of M87 (Messier 87) Here is a Hubble Space Telescope image of it and some details about the image.

About this image
Astronomers find that the supermassive black hole at the center of the most massive local galaxy (M87) is not where it was expected. Their research, conducted using the Hubble Space Telescope, concludes that the supermassive black hole in M87 is displaced from the galaxy center.

At right is a large-scale image of galaxy M87 taken in 1998 with Hubble's Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2. The two images at left show an image taken in 2006 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The position of the supermassive black hole is indicated by the black dot in the lower left panel, and a knot in the jet (HST-1), which was flaring in 2006, is also indicated on this panel. The red dot indicates the center of the galaxy's light distribution, which is offset from the position of the black hole by about 22 light-years.

So what do they think about the black hole being off center? Can a galaxy have an elliptical orbit?

 

[darthseinfeld]

As noted, this black hole exist in the galaxy of M87 (Messier 87) Here is a Hubble Space Telescope image of it and some details about the image.

About this image
Astronomers find that the supermassive black hole at the center of the most massive local galaxy (M87) is not where it was expected. Their research, conducted using the Hubble Space Telescope, concludes that the supermassive black hole in M87 is displaced from the galaxy center.

At right is a large-scale image of galaxy M87 taken in 1998 with Hubble's Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2. The two images at left show an image taken in 2006 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The position of the supermassive black hole is indicated by the black dot in the lower left panel, and a knot in the jet (HST-1), which was flaring in 2006, is also indicated on this panel. The red dot indicates the center of the galaxy's light distribution, which is offset from the position of the black hole by about 22 light-years.

I notice the black hole isnt at the center of the universe. Is there another supermassive in that universe?

 

[YosemiteSam]

So what do they think about the black hole being off center? Can a galaxy have an elliptical orbit?

Well, while I do not know this to be the case with M87. When two galaxies merge (or two massive black holes get close to each other) They can cause their orbits to wobble. Is this what happen to M87? Not sure, but M87 is in the Virgo Cluster which is ENORMOUS compared to most. Actually, it's also where Markarian's Chain is. Markarian's Chain is basically several galaxies within the Virgo Cluster that are lined up in a row. They all are gravitationally affecting each other. (actually the entire Virgo Cluster does)

 

[YosemiteSam]

I notice the black hole isnt at the center of the universe. Is there another supermassive in that universe?

As noted, it's possible. It's possible the two black holes merged too, but the gravital affects of those black holes hasn't calmed down after the merger yet causing the stars and dust to reestablish the black hole as the galactic center.

 

[Runwildboys]

Well, while I do not know this to be the case with M87. When two galaxies merge (or two massive black holes get close to each other) They can cause their orbits to wobble. Is this what happen to M87? Not sure, but M87 is in the Virgo Cluster which is ENORMOUS compared to most. Actually, it's also where Markarian's Chain is. Markarian's Chain is basically several galaxies within the Virgo Cluster that are lined up in a row. They all are gravitationally affecting each other. (actually the entire Virgo Cluster does)

You'd think a super massive black hole of that size and proximity would have too great a pull on its stars to allow that much outside influence, but hey, space is weird.

 

[SlammedZero]

but hey, space is weird.

That is why it is so fascinating!! I love this stuff.

 

[Hardline]

 

[speedkilz88]

Are you sure it isn't Uranus?

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

I thought that you were going to post a picture of the Oakland Raiders.

 

[YosemiteSam]

You'd think a super massive black hole of that size and proximity would have too great a pull on its stars to allow that much outside influence, but hey, space is weird.

Centrifugal forces can be very strong. Really if you think about it. Galaxies are huge and the objects within are all massive. While the power of gravity can be great enough to create a black hole, it's also the weakest of all the fundamental forces. So, you have these stars that are massive in their own right. (you have to be to have enough gravitational force for fusion to start in it's core) All that mass / weight is moving at extremely high speeds..

To understand it. Our Sun (mass of 1.989 × 10^30 kg) is moving around Sagittarius A* (our black hole) at 43k miles per hour. (think of how much kinetic energy that actually is) It's doing it at a distance of 26 light years from Sagittarius A*. A light year is an ungodly number of miles given light travels 186,000 miles second and there are 31,536,000 seconds in a year. (186,000 * 31,536,000) * 26

We are in the middle of the milky way's disk too. There are star system that are twice that far away from Sagittarius A*.

Our galaxy is one of likely trillions. Space is so mind-bogglingly large!

 

[BillyBates]

Absolutly too cool. there is a theory of all black holes become quasars at some point in time as they feed on the gas clouds as a universe begins to form. ULAS J1120+0641 this spiral galaxy its jet was seen in 2011 from 12.9 billion light years away. the battery on our key board would die before all the zeros could be typed lol. its quasar existed just 770 million years after the Big Bang. This is during a period called the Epoch of Reionization.
the amount of time and distance is absolutly unimaginable.