The event, captured on June 16, 2018 by the NASA-funded ATLAS-1 telescope in Hawaii and several other sources, is known to have originated in a star-forming galaxy in the Hercules constellation, some 200 million light-years from Earth (meaning the event occurred while dinosaurs still roamed the earth). Over three days, astronomers witnessed an explosion of light equivalent to at least ten supernovas before proceeding to fade over the next several months. The event of was officially classified the AT2018cow, but was quickly nicknamed "the Cow" by astronomers. R. MARGUTTI/W. M. KECK OBSERVATORYAN IMAGE OF AT2018COW AND ITS HOST GALAXY OBTAINED ON AUGUST 17, 2018 USING W. M. KECK OBSERVATORY'S INSTRUMENT, THE DEEP IMAGING AND MULTI-OBJECT SPECTROGRAPH (DEIMOS). That's where the scientific consensus ends. At a meeting of the American Astronmical Society in Seattle on Thursday, researchers … [Read more...] about Scientists Divided on Whether Blast Was Black Hole’s Birth or ‘Tidal Disruption’
Black hole
Galaxy hurtling towards Earth could ‘awaken supermassive black hole’ in Milky Way – and fling us into deep space
A ROGUE galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way – and it could spell disaster for the solar system. That's according to a shock new study, which claims the catastrophic impact could fling our star system into interstellar space and awaken a dormant black hole at the centre of our galaxy. This black hole would begin devouring any gas nearby and inflate up to ten times its original size, causing it to spew out deadly radiation. The warning comes from a group of scientists at the University of Durham, who studied the movement of satellite galaxies around our own Milky Way. Most larger galaxies are surrounded by a group of smaller satellite galaxies that orbit them, in a similar way to how bees move around a hive. Typically, these satellite galaxies have a quiet life and orbit around their hosts for many billions of years, but sometimes they sink to the centre and collide with their host. Researchers used computer simulations to track the movement of a satellite … [Read more...] about Galaxy hurtling towards Earth could ‘awaken supermassive black hole’ in Milky Way – and fling us into deep space
Gun attacks and Stormont’s black hole
Northern Ireland 2 January 2019 Share this with Facebook Share this with Messenger Share this with Twitter Share this with Email Share this with Facebook Share this with WhatsApp Share this with Messenger Share this with Twitter Share Share this with These are external links and will open in a new window Email Share this with Email Facebook Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Messenger Messenger Share this with Messenger Twitter Share this with Twitter Pinterest Share this with Pinterest WhatsApp Share this with WhatsApp LinkedIn Share this with LinkedIn Copy this link https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-46734273 Read more about sharing. These are external links and will open in a new window Close share panel Its back to porridge and back to politics in the Northern Ireland daily papers. "No Stormont, No Benefits," is the … [Read more...] about Gun attacks and Stormont’s black hole
‘This December dawned like a deluging black hole’
Columnist Di wade writes about her mad panic this month. Well, I don’t know about the most wonderful time of the year, but this is certainly a singular one. Unless it’s just me. Years of barrel-scraping gift-choosing later, I still unfailingly look forward to December with the starry-eyed enthusiasm of a kid at, well, Christmas: There are the fairy-lights for one, (which I think I rate primarily as I can actually see them), then all the silvery, jingly music, promising untold warmth, wonderment and wish-fulfilment on the end of the next toasting fork – and of course the still magical notion of the jolly guy on the sleigh with the flying reindeer: Even if magic mushrooms WERE largely to blame for that little lot. I’m not even averse to cold in the right situation, some of my best holidays having included brass monkeys gawping at a truly fairytale New York – and reindeer-sledding, ice-fishing and snowshoeing in the winter wonderland of Finland; besides … [Read more...] about ‘This December dawned like a deluging black hole’
Black holes might evolve into ‘white holes’ and spew everything back out
Black holes might one day reverse course, turning into 'white holes' and start spewing out matter, according to scientists. New papers published last week have attempted to figure out what goes on at the centre of a black hole. According to Albert Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, the centre of a black hole is a singularity - a point with no mass and infinite density. "These predictions are not realistic because they disregard quantum effects," said Carlo Rovelli of the French Centre of Theoretical Physics. What a supermassive black hole probably looks like revealed Distant black hole collision felt on Earth So using a new theory called loop quantum gravity - which combines Einstein's theories with quantum mechanics - scientists have tried to figure out what's actually going on. According to the new papers, published in journals Physical Review Letters and Physical Review D, matter that falls into a black hole bounces right back out. It's just taking a very, very long … [Read more...] about Black holes might evolve into ‘white holes’ and spew everything back out