For the first time ever, astrophysicists have reliably measured the spinning speed of a supermassive black hole. Let’s just say words like “blistering,” “breakneck” and “blinding” still manage to come up short.
A team of scientists led by Harvard astronomer Guido Risaliti recounts its findings in the latest issue of Nature. The researchers accomplished the feat by measuring electromagnetic radiation emanating from the center of spiral galaxy NGC 1365.
There — not unlike the center of our own Milky Way — a spherical region of spacetime more than 2 million miles in diameter whirls violently, its gravity so strong it actually schleps surrounding space along with it. Any matter that trespasses beyond the black hole’s event horizon spirals inward and collects in what’s known as an accretion disc, where it is subjected to so much friction it emits X-rays. (In the image up top, a hot, swirling accretion…
View original post 395 more words
James' World 2 
Leave a comment