Thanks to evidence from a #quasar, scientists believe two massive #blackholes in a #galaxy are orbiting each other at a distance closer than ever seen, and it is likely that they will collide--in about 100,000 years. - http://clapway.com/2015/09/18/pair-black-holes-spiral123/

Two massive black holes are orbiting each other at a distance closer than scientists have ever seen, and it is likely that they will collide–in about 100,000 years.

Rhythmic Quasars

A team of astronomers at Columbia University led by Daniel D’Orazio recently published a study on the black hole duo in the journal Nature. They’ve been measuring the light from the quasar associated with the area, which has helped them to establish the relative distance and activity of the black holes.

A quasar is the term given to the flickering light sources that emanate from black holes as they burn through surrounding gas and dust. This particular quasar is called PG 1302-102, and last winter, it was determined to derive from not one, but two black holes that are rotating around one another. This discovery was the result of analyzing a rhythmic feature of the quasar’s light: once every five years, its light grows brighter by fourteen percent.

The Columbia team created models of the quasars and estimated that the black holes are about 200 billion miles apart from each other, which turns out, is extremely close in cosmic terms. 200 billion miles is not even a tenth of a light-year. Their orbit is around 3.5 billion light years away from Earth.

Their models also suggest that the black holes are moving in an orbit that spirals, rather than one that rotates evenly. The spiral appears to be bringing them closer and closer to one another, on course for collision in about 100,000 years, depending on their relative masses.

A New Theory of Gravitational Relativity?

The spiral is what’s peculiar about this particular pair of black holes. It is relatively common for black holes to orbit one another when galaxies merge, given that every galaxy “of note” contains a supermassive black hole. In order for quasars to behave in the way that PG 1302-102 is behaving, there would have to be “hundreds of millions of solar masses” accompanying the black holes and exerting gravitational forces that act on the orbits.

Further analysis of PG 1302-102 could provide insight for astrophysicists not just into these two specific black holes, but into the theories of gravity and relativity in general. As D’Orazio said, “The detection of gravitational waves lets us probe the secrets of gravity and test Einstein’s theory in the most extreme environment in our universe…Getting there is a holy grail of our field.”

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DID SOMEONE SAY BLACK HOLES?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdcU4nKKV2E

Pair of Black Holes is Stuck in a Death Spiral

Stephen Hawking: Black Hole Information Paradox #space #StephenHawking #blackhole - http://clapway.com/2015/08/26/stephen-hawking-black-hole-information213/

The leading physicist Stephen Hawking has a new theory information in black holes. Hawking explained the concept during a lecture he gave for the Hawking Radiation Conference at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

THE EVENT HORIZON

“I propose that the information is stored not in the interior of the black hole as one might expect, but in its boundary, the event horizon,” Hawking said.

As Andrew Tarantola of Engadget explained, the event horizon is the edge of a black hole. The main component of Hawking’s new idea is that particles’ information would dwell on the event horizon as two-dimensional holograms, the information of which would leave the black hole as Hawking radiation does.

STEPHEN HAWKING: THE INFORMATION IS EFFECTIVELY LOST

However, the information leaving the black hole does not resemble its pre-hole form, effectively losing it in the hole. “The information about ingoing particles is returned, but in a chaotic and useless form,” the physicist said. “This resolves the information paradox. For all practical purposes, the information is lost.”

At the conference, Stephen Hawking also suggested that everything that enters the black hole influences the Hawking radiation.

THE BLACK HOLE INFORMATION PARADOX

The dilemma of information leaving black holes is what physicists call the black hole information paradox. According to quantum mechanics, physical information never disappears; in general relativity, the same doesn’t principle does not hold up.

VIEW OF OTHER PHYSICISTS

As Gautam Naik reported for The Wall Street Journal, Hawking is not the first major physicist to postulate that information can leave black holes. Utrecht University’s Gerald ‘t Hooft published a slightly different version of it in 1996, in which he claimed that Hawking radiation brings information out with it as it exits the black hole. Dr. ‘t Hooft has since distanced himself from his study, “because I made some assumptions and my calculations showed that I get too much information” that leaves the black hole.

Another physicist that spoke to Naik disputed Stephen Hawking’s claim that the information paradox had been resolved. Carlo Rovelli, a physicist at a French university attending the conference, said “I wouldn’t say the solution to the information paradox has been found because there are several competing ideas.”

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Stephen Hawking has questioned the perplexities of space for some time now. Learn more about it with Space Scouts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdcU4nKKV2E

Stephen Hawking: Black Hole Information Paradox

How Do Black Holes Control Star Birth? - http://clapway.com/2015/08/09/black-holes-controls-star-birth-101/

Yesterday, NASA released news that will help us understand the formation of oval galaxies. Specifically, the new data answers some old questions about why oval galaxies take so long to form. It turns out that the way black holes control the proto-matter of a baby galaxy actually regulate star birth as the galaxy takes shape around it.

The Observation of Black Holes

The details of this scientific study can be found in two journals released in June: The Astrophysical Journal and the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Despite the fact that the findings have been available for a little over a month, news has only recently been broached on the subject. The results were discovered using the Hubble Space Telescope.

What Hubble’s recent findings tell us is that when a black hole is allowed to play a key role in star birth, the new system becomes autonomous very rapidly. This means that each factor involved in the generation of stars has the potential to skew or perfect the creation process.

Scientists have also observed that high energy jets, called Gamma-Ray Bursts, are shot out from the black hole into the surrounding gas, heating the surrounding proto-matter enough to preclude its falling back to the black hole. To better understand what is going on, scientists use the analogy of a brewing thunderstorm; the gases that stay in the sky are the heated gases which never return to the black hole’s system. The falling rain, however, represents the portions of the system which are recollected into a galaxy.

However, the thunderstorm has limited mobility or freedom to reshape itself because of the black hole’s presence, as mentioned previously. This is ultimately how the black hole controls star birth. For a very long time, no one was sure why oval galaxies grew so slowly despite an overwhelming abundance of gas.

But how exactly is it slowed? As mentioned previously, when the gas is heated by the jets ejected by the black hole, the overall kinetic energy is too high for gravity (which is actually the weakest of the cosmic forces) to pull the proto-matter back into the galaxy.

In other, analogous words, this injection of kinetic energy prevents a majority of the ‘raindrops’ from falling onto the ‘ground.’ So while it is only sprinkling on the ground, the clouds are filled with rain particles that are just too energetic to let go and fall.

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 Want to prepare your kids for interstellar adventures?

https://youtu.be/UdcU4nKKV2E

How Do Black Holes Control Star Birth?

5 of the most #amazing #space #pictures to make you #FeelSmall. - http://clapway.com/2015/07/30/5-shocking-space-pictures-that-remind-us-how-incredible-the-universe-is/

We are lucky enough in our lifetime to be able to physically see images of different stellar bodies. Not only are we able to view these beautiful space pictures, but we can see them in high definition. It’s incredible that we have advanced enough to send out objects that will last millions of light years away and send back pictures and data on each object in our solar system. The Hubble Telescope has been a great champion in showing us the wonders of our universe.

Here are 5 shocking space pictures that remind us how incredible the universe really is:

Wolf-Rayet Stars — These massive stars are evolved and have completely lost their outer hydrogen, so they are fusing helium and heavy elements in their core.

Carina Nebula – This is a star forming nebula that can be found in the Milky Way galaxy, and has seen it’s share of supernova explosions. These shocking space pictures really do capture the beauty that is possible outside our world.

Cassiopeia A Supernova – A Supernova is a star that has exploded and increases in brightness because it’s mass is now ejected.

Rose Galaxy – Given it’s name for the obvious reason that it looks like a rose, these are actually two galaxies that are interacting with each other. I love that these shocking space pictures show how even galaxies work in tandem together.

Black Hole Squashing a Star – The gravity of the black hole pulls the passing star towards it, pulling different parts of the star at a time. In extreme cases, the start will be pulled into a long, spaghetti looking shape, a process actually known as “spaghettification.”

I am still so in awe of each and every shocking space picture we receive, whether it’s a newly discovered galaxy, or a planet (such as Pluto). What amazing sites we are able to feast our eyes upon.

What’s your favorite stellar body? Share your favorite shocking space pictures with us!

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The amazingness of space peaks our interests at an early age. Give your child the gift of space with Space Scouts:

 

5 Shocking Space Pictures that Remind Us How Incredible the Universe is

#NuSTAR and its quest for #blackhole info. - http://clapway.com/2015/07/12/the-most-important-things-to-know-about-black-holes-987/

Like many other forces of nature as well as mysteries humanity has yet to explain, very little is known about black holes. Among the populace, there is much speculation about these strange anomalies. Thanks to NASA’s NuSTAR, now researchers know a little bit more about black holes. In fact, NuSTAR has found five already since its launch in 2012.

What is a black hole?

A black hole is what remains after a star that is many times bigger than our sun explodes. All the pressure that builds up from that explosion causes (what some believe to be) the core of the star, to condense into the size of a large city.

Don’t be fooled by its small size, though. Even though this core is so small, its gravitational pull is so strong, NASA says that even light cannot escape its pull.

How many black holes are there?

While it is speculated and theorized that there are a significant amount of black holes in the galaxy and universe, they are actually very difficult to find. The black holes are shrouded by dust and gases that are left over from the explosion and from everything it pulls in. And with no light emitting near the hole without getting sucked in, it is incredibly hard to find black holes. Scientists generally have to look for blank spaces where there probably should be something and estimate if there should be a black hole there.

What is this NuSTAR?

NuSTAR, or the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array is essentially a giant telescope that NASA launched into space. It uses high energy X-rays to collect data. These X-rays make it significantly easier to find black holes as it can easily penetrate through the gases and dust surrounding them. As was stated before, it has already found five. While it is indeed easier to find the black holes, scientists still need to know where to look.

What is there to be learned from black holes?

Many scientists and researchers believe that black holes will help uncover the secrets of a very illusive matter: dark matter. Dark matter is a form of matter that cannot be seen or recorded with any known type of technology. Even without being able to see it, however, scientists are sure that it is there. Unsure of what exactly it is, they have labeled it ‘dark matter’.

It was stated in the Astrophysical Journal that roughly 80% of the universe is made up of this dark matter.

Scientists hope that by learning more about black holes, they will learn more about dark matter, and in doing so, learn more about the natural order of this universe.

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The Most Important Things to Know About Black Holes

Stargazing 101- Cygnus the Swan - http://clapway.com/2015/07/03/stargazing-101-cygnus-the-swan987/

Growing to love the constellation

This was a constellation I learned of on my own when I was younger. We had Greek Week at school where we were separated into groups that represented various ancient cities. My group had Athens, so we recreated the city and we did “battle” with the other cities. Our teacher organized various educational and entertaining games that week. It was afterward that I fell deeply in love with Greek mythology. I found numerous versions of the story of Cygnus the Swan, but I was always fixated with this one.

The Mythology

Zeus, god of the Olympians, became entranced by a mortal woman, as he so often did. Leda was the Queen of Sparta, married to King Tyndareu, and Zeus had been admiring her for a quite some time. He decided he absolutely must have her and devised a plot to seduce her. He cleverly disguised himself as Cygnus the Swan and sought her out. Leda spotted the swan being attacked by an eagle and saved him, although she was still unaware that Cygnus the Swan was Zeus. He fell into her arms as if to show her his appreciation for saving him. He presented himself as Zeus and succeeded in seducing the beautiful queen. Fortunately for Zeus, this was one affair that Hera had no knowledge of. Leda, who had also been with her husband that night, became pregnant and laid two eggs. Out of the eggs came four children, one of which was Helen of Troy. She is said to be the only consistent child of Zeus among the four throughout the various versions of the story. Upon learning of the children they bore together, Zeus put a swan high up in the stars as a personal trophy for succeeding in seducing Leda.

The Facts

This constellation is known as Cygnus, which translates as “swan.” The image you see is the sky resembles that of the bird quite closely. There are quiet a few stellar objects observed in this constellation, creating a beautiful display of colors when viewed by the best telescopes. The Fireworks Galaxy (a nickname given to NGC 6946) is a spiral galaxy that has seen 8 supernova explosions; however, still housing 3 of the oldest known supernovas ever detected by X-rays. Cygnus X-1 is a stellar-mass black hole in orbit in this cluster of stars. This family of black holes comes from the collapse of a massive star.

There is another version of the swan story that involves Aries and his son. In some areas, it is said that his son was transformed into a swan when he met death. This constellation is one of the oldest ones known; therefore there are many different versions of the story. Some are drastically different and some are only missing minor details. It seems that Zeus has an insatiable lust for trouble! Have you heard the story of Cygnus the Swan before? Please let us know below.

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Stargazing 101- Cygnus the Swan

Nap Time Is Over for a Huge Black Hole - http://clapway.com/2015/06/26/nap-time-is-over-for-a-huge-black-hole-time-to-eat765/

Look out, world, a huge black hole is awake

After 26 years of what appeared to be inactivity, the huge black hole in the system of V404 Cygni, 8,000 light years away from Earth, ‘woke up’ recently to show spikes in high-energy light. The new spike in activity was detected by the European Space Agency’s INTEGRAL after observing it for around a week when the huge black hole was eating an astral neighbor.

The light from this huge black hole made for an interesting show

With the new activity, the spike in high-energy light caused a fascinating phenomenon that looked very different to our eyes in the night sky. The spectacle would cause the light that reaches our eyes to flicker and vary in brightness and become visible after its ‘inactivity’.

The system featuring the black hole is only across the way

Though the system is located 8,000 light years away, it still is located in the Milky Way in the Swan constellation, or Cygnus. There, it consumes material from a star that the black hole orbits. The consumption has caused several peaks in activity throughout the years, the last spike in 1989.

On June 15, 2015 the change in activity was detected

Flares of gamma rays were detected by the Burst Alert Telescope on NASA’s Swift satellite and MAXI on the International Space Station. Many agree that this behavior from the huge black hole is unique right now in the bursts of light, some brighter than other objects in the night sky. The system that huge black hole resides in has not been as luminous since the last spike in 1989.

Finding from previous years and now show that the spouts of inactivity are due to the material of consumption slowly piling up around the disc of the black hole until the feeding is temporarily interrupted for a short period of time. Scientists are eager to see what this new bout of activity will bring once the spike beings to settle down. Last time, data showed that the neighboring star was significantly smaller than the black hole that orbited it, the hole being more massive than the Sun.

Only time will tell what this huge black hole will bring after its 26 year nap and feeding time.

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Nap Time Is Over for a Huge Black Hole

"According to the cinematic geniuses of our time, you either travel through space at light speed or you are transported (short cut style) to another part of the universe." - http://clapway.com/2015/06/22/3-of-the-most-interesting-black-holes-in-space/

 

When I was younger, my mom had a tradition of always taking us out into the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night to watch meteor showers, comets, and anything else you can see in the sky with the naked eye. At a young age, I knew all about the constellations and about other galaxies in the universe. You could definitely say I was a space nerd. It always reminded me how tiny and insignificant my life is compared to the vastness of the universe. It’s really a beautiful thing. However, there was one thing that always terrified me. Black holes. Not the kind that you consider your dryer to be when you come out with less socks and you put in. I’m talking planet-swallowing black holes randomly placed in outer space. For the space explorer such as myself, I’m going to tell you about three of the most interesting black holes that I’ve found in my research and how a new theory might change your perspective on them.

1. Middleweight Black Hole

An Australian telescope observed bursts of super hot gas, which inevitably lead to the discovery of the first middleweight black hole. Before it was discovered, supermassive black holes and stellar mass black holes were the only two types thought to exist. These types of black holes have been a constant mystery to astronomers for many years. The most recent discovery of one, an intermediate-mass black hole, is said to be approximately 290 million light-years from Earth. It is described as being 20,000 “solar masses” in size.

2. Rotating Black Holes

These bad boys are exactly as their name depicts them. To give you an idea of how fast they spin, the fastest one scientists have found is in the constellation of Aquila that spins more than 950 times per second.

3. Rogue Black Holes

We call a black hole “rogue” when it gets knocked out of their original location, usually due to galaxy collision. The first known one of these space ninjas is said to be approximately 600 million times the size of the sun. It is believed that in our galaxy alone, there could be hundreds of rogue black holes roaming around.

They are the age-old natural nemesis in space: Black holes. Infamous for what dangers might lurk within them, or on the other side of them. They are one of space exploration’s greatest mysteries, and a topic that I have always been curious about. NASA has dedicated resources specifically to the exploration of black holes. They come in all different shapes and sizes, a very different thought from the original idea that there were only the three general sizes; small, medium, and large. So the big question is always: what happens if we get sucked in?

According to the cinematic geniuses of our time, you either travel through space at light speed or you are transported (short cut style) to another part of the universe. As cool as both of these ideas sound, it’s very unlikely. Recently, a paper was presented in a space conference in Paris that suggested looking at black holes from a completely different perspective; not that looking at them in any perspective was easy in the first place!

A professor at Ohio State University, Samir Mathur, has dubbed black holes “Fuzzballs,” and claims that what happens when you get close to one is not like what happens in the movies. He says that the surface of the hole destroys your body (if you were floating through space and got close to one) and basically makes a hologram of it and it is forever stuck in the outer layer of the “Fuzzball.” He has dubbed them so because he thinks that they are a thin, fuzzy layer of space, which differs from the typical sooth layer that we all know and love. I think naming them something so cute sounding definitely takes away from the menacing fact that they could make a hologram of our lifeless bodies forever to be embedded in space.

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Tailored for children, Space Scouts Summer Adventure is your start to a most interesting summer for:

 

3 of the Most Interesting Black Holes in Space

NASA Discovers New Galaxy Shines Brightest Yet - http://clapway.com/2015/05/23/nasa-discovers-new-galaxy-shines-brightest-yet123/

On May 21, NASA disclosed the discovery of a hidden galaxy that shone with the light of more than 300 trillion suns. The suns found in this massive galaxy are believed to be the result of a supermassive black hole. The new galaxy has been named an unromantic WISE (for Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) J224607.57-052635.0.

 

Study Lead by Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The lead author of the study of the new galaxy, Chao-Wei Tsai is a part of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab located in Pasadena, California. Tsai believes a black hole is the central source behind these suns. The galaxy evolution can be very intense and the black hole is a part of the process. The light can be formed within the growth of the galaxy’s super massive black hole.

The new galaxy is 12.5 billion years away and was already in existence when the universe was one-tenth of its age now. Most galaxies, if not all of them, are believed to have black holes within the center of their cores. The galaxies we see now may be in the process of actually gorging on the galaxy’s gas.

 

The WISE Telescope Shows Us the New Galaxy

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) was developed to travel in orbit and scan the entire sky using infrared light. When the new galaxy was seen, it was seen in infrared light and not visible light. Astronomers for WISE have been recently discovering a completely new class of objects such as this one, within the galaxy. These galaxies are being referred to as extremely luminous infrared galaxies or ELIRGs. So far, there have been twenty new ELIRGs, including this most luminous one found to date.

 

Effects of Supermassive Black Hole

While material is spiraling down into a black hole, it heats up tremendously and emits huge amounts of light that take millions of years to travel here. People are wondering how the supermassive black hole within WISE became so huge. Because it is 12.5-billion years old, this is how astronomers are seeing it even though the universe itself is only 1.3 billion years old. Researchers believe that the new galaxy was born big, much as a baby elephant is born big. Tsai believes this black hole got bigger due to its sustainable binge, consuming faster than we thought. The slower a black hole is spinning, the more it consumes.

NASA Discovers New Galaxy Shines Brightest Yet