Unprecedented Cosmic Event
Flashing Bright Lights from Massive Black Hole in our Galaxy
Sagittarius A: Black Hole Light Show
The black hole Sagittarius A (Sgr A) is the Earth's closest black hole and is right in the middle of the Milky Way. Using the Keck II Telescope in Hawaii, astronomers watched the massive black hole erupt and spew a huge burst of infrared radiation. They call the event "unprecedented" and they can't explain exactly what caused it.
Off the Charts
The astronomers say the black hole reached much brighter "flux levels" than ever observed before. According to NASA, SgrA is 26,000 light years from Earth. The astronomers observed this space phenomenon this spring and just disclosed it in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters. According to the astronomers, black holes are always variable but this one was off the charts of historic data including from the Keck II Telescope.
Theories
There are two theories as to what caused the huge burst of light. A star passing by could have changed the gas flow around the black hole. Or it could have been a flash from a passing gas cloud. The astronomers are anxiously awaiting data from other global telescopes. For a free Kindle borrow of my latest book "Big Space News 2019", go to amazon.com/author/ekane
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TYG31KM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i12
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| Source: NASA Sagittarius A |
Sagittarius A: Black Hole Light Show
The black hole Sagittarius A (Sgr A) is the Earth's closest black hole and is right in the middle of the Milky Way. Using the Keck II Telescope in Hawaii, astronomers watched the massive black hole erupt and spew a huge burst of infrared radiation. They call the event "unprecedented" and they can't explain exactly what caused it.
Off the Charts
The astronomers say the black hole reached much brighter "flux levels" than ever observed before. According to NASA, SgrA is 26,000 light years from Earth. The astronomers observed this space phenomenon this spring and just disclosed it in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters. According to the astronomers, black holes are always variable but this one was off the charts of historic data including from the Keck II Telescope.
Theories
There are two theories as to what caused the huge burst of light. A star passing by could have changed the gas flow around the black hole. Or it could have been a flash from a passing gas cloud. The astronomers are anxiously awaiting data from other global telescopes. For a free Kindle borrow of my latest book "Big Space News 2019", go to amazon.com/author/ekane
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TYG31KM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i12
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