Friday, September 4, 2020

Most massive black hole merger yet puzzles astronomers | Science | AAAS

The detectors have sensed  dozens of such cataclysms  over the past 5 years, but the one on 21 May 2019 was different. Not only was it the most powerful and distant merger ever seen, but the resulting black hole also belongs to a class of long-sought middleweight black holes, members of the LIGO-Virgo collaboration report today in two new studies.

Stellar-class black holes are typically created when a large star runs out of its nuclear fuel and the churning engine of light and heat stops. Without that outward pressure, the star's outer layers collapse under gravity, triggering a colossal supernova and leaving behind a black hole. But in the very biggest stars, the collapse is even more catastrophic, causing a runaway thermonuclear explosion that destroys the star and leaves nothing behind.

Publisher: Science | AAAS
Date: 2020-09-02T08:00:00-04:00
Author: Daniel Clery
Twitter: @newsfromscience
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In case you are keeping track:

Cosmic mash-up reveals type of black hole never seen before - Los Angeles Times

Black holes are compact regions of space so densely packed that not even light can escape. Until now, astronomers had observed them in only two general sizes.

There are "small" ones called stellar black holes that are formed when a star collapses and are about the size of small cities. And there are supermassive black holes that are millions, maybe billions, of times more massive than our sun and around which entire galaxies revolve.

According to astronomers' calculations, anything in between didn't quite make sense, because stars that grew too big before collapse would essentially consume themselves, leaving no black holes behind.

Publisher: Los Angeles Times
Date: 2020-09-02T16:05:00.624
Author: https www latimes com people associated press
Twitter: @latimes
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Chabot Space Center's black hole: Money gap prompts auction of universe for $1,000 -

They are selling the universe at Chabot Science and Space Center because the 137-year-old institution, closed to paying customers due to the pandemic, is in something of a financial black hole.

To dig itself out, it’s marketing a romantic dinner for two inside the planetarium. Instead of the usual 400 grammar-school kids on a field trip, it’s just you and your significant other and a roast chicken.

Chabot provided a preview the other morning of what’s included in the deal. You get the regular planetarium show — red laser pointer, giant picture of Orion the hunter high above and the glow-in-the-dark “N” on the wall so you can verify that the North Star is where it ought to be.

Publisher: SFChronicle.com
Date: 2020-09-04T11:00:00 00:00
Author: Steve Rubenstein
Twitter: @sfchronicle
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A Collision in Space Caused a Black Hole 142 Times Bigger Than the Sun | Travel + Leisure

According to PBS , scientists have observed the collision of two black holes, creating a new size of black hole that has never been seen before.

Rest assured, this massive black hole won’t be consuming our universe like it would in a sci-fi movie. This black hole collision is thought to have occurred over seven billion years ago, and we are just observing it now because it is so far away, according to PBS .

The event was observed in May 2019, when scientists picked up a signal that turned out to be two stellar black holes colliding with each other. The two black holes were 66 times and 85 times the mass of Earth’s sun, PBS reported, resulting in a black hole that was around 142 times bigger than the sun. While you might think this collision would be absolutely deafening to hear, the signal was actually pretty tame.

Publisher: Travel + Leisure
Twitter: @TravelLeisure
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This may worth something:

Gujarati scientist finds 'unique' black hole 142 times sun's mass | Vadodara News - Times of India
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Publisher: The Times of India
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Astronomers detect super-rare type of black hole for the first time | WKRC
Publisher: WKRC
Date: 2020-09-04T14:13:34 00:00
Author: WKRC
Twitter: @local12
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Spinning black hole powers jet by magnetic flux

The centre of quasar 3C279 emits flickering gamma radiation, which is characteristic of the phenomenon of magnetic reconnection.

Newswise — Black holes are at the center of almost all galaxies that have been studied so far. They have an unimaginably large mass and therefore attract matter, gas and even light. But they can also emit matter in the form of plasma jets - a kind of plasma beam that is ejected from the centre of the galaxy with tremendous energy. A plasma jet can extend several hundred thousand light years far into space.

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Bad Astronomy | A black hole merger may have formed a never-before-seen intermediate mass black

Seven billion years ago * — give or take — a pair of black holes approached their mutual destruction.

They'd been circling each other for a long, long time, but that was about to end. Gradually spiraling closer together over eons, the process accelerated until they whipped around each other at near the speed of light. Then, in less than 100 milliseconds, they approached, distorted, reached out to each other… and merged.

This was no ordinary event . These were hefty black holes, dozens of times the mass of ordinary stars. When they merged to form an even more massive black hole, they let out a positively colossal blast of energy in the form of gravitational waves that literally shook the fabric of spacetime. The waves of energy expanded outward, dissipating with distance.

Publisher: SYFY WIRE
Date: 2020-09-02T08:00:00-04:00
Author: https www facebook com Phil Plait 251070648641
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