NASA: Black Hole Candidate Cygnus X 1
-
NASA: Black Hole Candidate CygnusPosted by: whitesharkIs that a black hole? Quite possibly. The Cygnus X-1 binary star system ...
Is that a black hole? Quite possibly. The Cygnus X-1 binary star system contains one of the best candidates for a black hole. The system was discovered because it is one of the brightest X-ray sources on the sky, shining so bright it was detected by the earliest rockets carrying cameras capable of seeing the previously unknown X-ray sky. The star's very name indicates that it is the single brightest X-ray source in the constellation of the Swan Cygnus. Data indicate that a compact object there contains about nine times the mass of the Sun and changes its brightness continually on several time scales, at least down to milliseconds. Such behavior is expected for a black hole, and difficult to explain with other models. Pictured above is an artistic impression of the Cygnus X-1 system. On the left is the bright blue supergiant star designated HDE 226868, which is estimated as having about 30 times the mass of our Sun. Cygnus X-1 is depicted on the right, connected to its supergiant companion by a stream of gas, and surrounded by an impressive accretion disk. The bright star in the Cygnus X-1 system is visible with a small telescope. Strangely, the Cygnus X-1 black hole candidate appears to have formed without a bright supernova explosion.
-
- Share:
-
-
-
-
-
-
Reach -
Credibility
-
Related Allvoices Contributions
-
Violent Explosion Is Most Distant Object Ever Seen
By: fantasma
Light from a star that exploded 13 billion years ago has been detected, becoming the most distant object in the universe ever observed. The light from the distant explosion, called a gamma-ray burst, first reached Earth on April 23 and was detected by NASA's Swift satellite. Gamma-ray bursts are thought to be associated with the formation ...
about 1 month ago
-
Farthest Ever Star Blast From Ancient Cosmos
By: RaulDeSouza
Astronomers have detected a cosmic object more distant than any ever seen: a gamma ray burst about 13 billion light-years from Earth. The massive, luminous burst occurred about 600 million years after the Big Bang—that is, when the universe was 4% of its current age—and only lasted for about 12 seconds. Scientists say the ancient ...
about 1 month ago
-
Black holes all eat the same way
By: MrFkas
Black holes are often described as voracious and monstrous, with sloppy eating habits that cause X-rays to be coughed up and spat out willy nilly. Pushing the dietary analogy a bit further, scientists now say that regardless of where black holes dine, they have the same culinary habits. Supermassive black holes, which anchor many galaxies,...
about 1 month ago
-
By: sdinfiniti
How do you weigh the biggest black holes in the universe? One answer now comes from a completely new and independent technique that astronomers have developed using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. By measuring a peak in the temperature of hot gas in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy <
3 days ago
- Submitted By: Punditty | about 1 year agoThe view from Earth is only part of the picture.
-
Image Source: space.newscientist.comWas the brightest supernova ...Image Source: space.newscientist.comWas the brightest supernova the ... -
Image Source: chandra.harvard.eduThe brightest X-ray sources in ...Image Source: chandra.harvard.eduThe brightest X-ray sources in the ...
-
Video Source: youtube.comBlack Hole spinning animation ...Video Source: youtube.comthe X-ray energies emitted close to supermassive black holes, such as ... - Video Source: youtube.comEXPLODING STAR BRIGHTEST EVER ...Video Source: youtube.com.nasa.gov/swift SOURCE NASA http://www.nasa.gov Copyright © 2008 PR ...
- Video Source: www.truveo.comSound of a black holeVideo Source: www.truveo.comSept. 8, 1999: Watch a NASA animation zooming in on a black hole as you ...
- Video Source: www.truveo.comBlack hole powers X-ray jetsVideo Source: www.truveo.comJan 9 - NASA has released new images of a super-massive black hole powering ...
- Video Source: youtube.comNASA | GLASTcast | Episode 2: ...Video Source: youtube.comof suns. As the star blows up, a black hole forms at its center. The black ...
Cell phones use report code: Related Allvoices Reports
Site Links
Site Topics
Contributions
- Report Your News
- Add your voice and contribute via your cellphone - check out how to Report News via Your Cellphone
- Blog Widget
- Widget for Blog Owner
