Latest news with #IMBH
The Irish Sun
02-08-2025
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Watch monstrous black hole GOBBLE up a star before Earth-shattering explosion in incredible new Nasa clip
WATCH the shocking moment a rare black whole gobbles up a star and causes an earth-shattering explosion in a stunning new Nasa clip. 5 Researchers have created an animation showing the moment a black hole ripped apart a star Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI 5 The event triggered a massive explosion Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI The animation shows the rare moment that the suspected intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) HLX-1 ripped apart the According to Live Science, IMBHs are hard to spot and often confused with clusters of smaller black holes left over from collapsed stars. Researches also think they may hide behind small groups of stars that closely orbit them without being ripped apart. Tech news Therefore, the best way to spot an IMBH is indirectly, by measuring the masses of merging black holes or by catching them in the act consuming a star. In a study published April 11 in By combining data from the and 's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the study team believes they have spotted a bright flash, or "tidal disruption event," caused by the black hole devouring a neighbouring star. However, as with many other IMBH candidates, it is not 100% certain that HLX-1 is real. Most read in Tech In addition to being rare, IMBHs are important because of what they can tell us about other black holes. Yi-Chi Chang, a researcher at the National Tsing Hua University, said: "They represent a crucial missing link in black hole evolution between stellar mass and supermassive black holes." UK-led plan to build hypersonic plane that flies on edge of space at 4,000mph going from London to NYC in 60mins One theory is that they may start as large stellar-mass black holes and eventually grow into supermassive black holes over the course of billions of years. In a search for answers, astronomers are now on the lookout for more potential tidal disruption events on the edges of other galaxies. All you need to know about the planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is How many moons does What colour is How far away is How big is How many moons does Does How many moons does How big is How hot is the 5 HLX-1 is located on the outskirts off NGC 6099 galaxy Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI 5 Astronomers are on the lookout for more disruption events of this kind Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI 5 The black hole devoured a neighbouring star Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI
Scottish Sun
02-08-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Watch monstrous black hole GOBBLE up a star before Earth-shattering explosion in incredible new Nasa clip
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WATCH the shocking moment a rare black whole gobbles up a star and causes an earth-shattering explosion in a stunning new Nasa clip. Astronomers have created an extraordinary animation after detecting what they believe to be an extremely rare type of "missing link" black hole shredding a distant star. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Researchers have created an animation showing the moment a black hole ripped apart a star Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI 5 The event triggered a massive explosion Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI The animation shows the rare moment that the suspected intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) HLX-1 ripped apart the star, triggering the almighty explosion. Black holes come in a range of sizes, but can be up to 40 billion times bigger than the Sun, Live Science reports. According to Live Science, IMBHs are hard to spot and often confused with clusters of smaller black holes left over from collapsed stars. Researches also think they may hide behind small groups of stars that closely orbit them without being ripped apart. Therefore, the best way to spot an IMBH is indirectly, by measuring the masses of merging black holes or by catching them in the act consuming a star. In a study published April 11 in The Astrophysical Journal , researchers reported that they'd spotted another promising IMBH candidate, located more than 450 million light-years from Earth. By combining data from the Hubble Space Telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the study team believes they have spotted a bright flash, or "tidal disruption event," caused by the black hole devouring a neighbouring star. However, as with many other IMBH candidates, it is not 100% certain that HLX-1 is real. In addition to being rare, IMBHs are important because of what they can tell us about other black holes. Yi-Chi Chang, a researcher at the National Tsing Hua University, said: "They represent a crucial missing link in black hole evolution between stellar mass and supermassive black holes." UK-led plan to build hypersonic plane that flies on edge of space at 4,000mph going from London to NYC in 60mins One theory is that they may start as large stellar-mass black holes and eventually grow into supermassive black holes over the course of billions of years. In a search for answers, astronomers are now on the lookout for more potential tidal disruption events on the edges of other galaxies. All you need to know about the planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is Earth? Plus other facts on our planet How many moons does Mercury have? What colour is Venus? How far away is Mars to Earth? And other facts on the red planet How big is Jupiter? How many moons does Saturn have? Does Uranus have rings? How many moons does Neptune have? How big is Pluto? How hot is the Sun? 5 HLX-1 is located on the outskirts off NGC 6099 galaxy Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI 5 Astronomers are on the lookout for more disruption events of this kind Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The Universe's Missing Black Holes May Have Been Located
For decades, astronomers have theorized that black holes fall into three broad categories. There are the stellar-mass black holes, which range from five to 50 times the mass of our Sun. Then, there are supermassive black holes (SMBHs), which are millions to billions of times more massive than the Sun. Finally, there are intermediate black holes (IMBHs), with masses that fall somewhere in between. Whereas scientists have observed plenty of stellar mass black holes and SMBHs, evidence of IMBHs has been a lot harder to come by. That has posed a problem: IMBHs are thought to be the transitional bridge between stellar black holes and SMBHs as they grow, a glaring 'missing link' in black hole evolution. In a series of new studies, an international team led by researchers from Vanderbilt University's Lunar Labs Initiative (LLI) has announced that it may have found evidence of these elusive objects. In one of the papers, a team led by astronomers Krystal Ruiz-Rocha and Anjali Yolkier describes how the researchers reanalyzed data from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Virgo Collaboration to search for possible indications of IMBH mergers. The results indicate that these observatories recorded gravitational wave events that correspond to mergers between black holes that were 100 to 300 solar masses. This makes these events the largest black hole collisions recorded by astronomers, and places them in the range where they expect lightweight IMBHs to be. "Black holes are the ultimate cosmic fossils," says astronomer and senior author Karan Jani. "The masses of black holes reported in this new analysis have remained highly speculative in astronomy. This new population of black holes opens an unprecedented window into the very first stars that lit up our Universe." In related research, scientists showed how the upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, which is scheduled to launch in the late 2030s, could help verify these results. Whereas detectors like LIGO and Virgo can capture the final stages of a black hole collision, LISA will be able to track them for years before they merge as they spiral in towards each other, generating ripples in space-time. This extended observational timeframe will allow astronomers to learn more about the black holes' origin, evolution, and what will become of them. "We hope this research strengthens the case for intermediate-mass black holes as the most exciting source across the network of gravitational-wave detectors from Earth to space," says Ruiz-Rocha. "Each new detection brings us closer to understanding the origin of these black holes and why they fall into this mysterious mass range." Looking ahead, the team plans to explore how IMBH could be observed using gravitational wave observatories on the Moon. NASA is exploring the possibility of building just such an observatory on the Moon as part of the Artemis program's long-term objectives. This plan has existed since the Apollo Era and would build on the Lunar Surface Gravimeter experiment left behind by the Apollo 17 astronauts. "This is an exciting moment in history – not just to study black holes, but to bring scientific frontiers together with the new era of space and lunar exploration," says Jani. "We have a rare opportunity to train the next generation of students whose discoveries will be shaped by, and made from, the Moon." The findings are reported in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, with supporting research published in The Astrophysical Journal, here, here, and here. Mysteriously Magnetic Moon Rocks Might Have an Explosive Origin Story Fiery Orange Gems From The Moon Reveal Secrets of Its Violent Past A Giant Hole Just Opened in The Sun – And It's Blasting Earth With Solar Wind
Gulf News
17-04-2025
- Science
- Gulf News
Indian telescopes shed light on elusive ‘middleweight' black holes
New Delhi: Astrophysicists from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have successfully detected and measured the properties of an intermedia black hole (IMBH). IMBH which has remained elusive is found in a faint galaxy called NGC 4395 about 4.3 million light-years away from Earth. Using the 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) -- India's largest optical telescope --, the team found that gas clouds orbit the black hole at a distance of 125 light-minutes (around 2.25 billion kilometre) with a velocity dispersion of 545 km per second. 'The discovery refines our understanding about how black holes, especially those that weigh between 100 and 100,000 Suns, grow and interact with their surroundings,' the scientists said. For decades, astronomers have searched for a missing link in the cosmic black hole family: the elusive Intermediate-Mass Black Holes (IMBHs). IMBHs are thought to be the seeds that grow into supermassive black holes. However, their faint nature and location in small galaxies make them extremely difficult to observe. Unlike their larger counterparts, they don't generate bright emissions unless they're actively pulling in matter, making advanced observational techniques essential. The team of astrophysicists, led by Shivangi Pandey studied NGC 4395 -- a low-luminosity active galaxy hosting one of the faintest actively feeding black holes ever observed. They used the 3.6m DOT, and its indigenously developed spectrograph and camera ADFOSC, along with the smaller 1.3m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) located at the Devasthal Observatory of ARIES in Uttarakhand's Nainital. The team monitored the object continuously for two nights using both telescopes and applied a special technique called spectrophotometric reverberation mapping. This technique measures the delay between light emitted by the black hole's accretion disk and the surrounding gas clouds (broad-line region). This delay, or time lag, revealed the region's size and helped calculate the black hole's mass, said the team. The results, published in the Astrophysical Journal, showed that 'the IMBH weighs about 22,000 times the Sun's mass, making it one of the most precisely measured intermediate-mass black holes. The black hole consumes matter at just 6 per cent of its maximum theoretical rate'. 'The hunt for more IMBHs is far from over. Larger telescopes and advanced instruments will be key to uncovering these cosmic middleweights,' said Dr Suvendu Rakshit, a scientist at ARIES.
