See other Science/Tech Articles
Title: Black Hole Closer to Earth Than Thought
Source:
Space.com
URL Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20091 ... ckholeclosertoearththanthought
Published: Dec 15, 2009
Author: SPACE.com Staff
Post Date: 2009-12-15 23:24:48 by F.A. Hayek Fan
Keywords: None
Views: 254
Comments: 8
Astronomers have accurately measured the distance between Earth and a particular black hole for the first time. And wow, is it close. The researchers determined that the black hole V404 Cygni is located 7,800 light-years from Earth — or just slightly more than half the distance that was previously assumed. That puts it relatively nearby to Earth, where the distance to the center of the galaxy is about 26,000 light-years, and the nearest star beyond the sun is a mere 4.2 light-years away. The more accurate distance measurement will enable scientists to paint a better picture of how black holes evolve, the team says. "For example, we hope to be able to answer the question as to whether there is a difference between black holes that evolve directly from the collapse of a star without a supernova and black holes that evolve via a supernova and a temporary intermediate star," said study team member Peter Jonker of SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research. "We expect that the black holes in the last group can get a kick. Black holes formed in this way could then move through space faster." Jonker and his team measured the distance to V404 Cygni by measuring radio emissions from the black hole and its associated dying star. The outermost layers of the star are being siphoned by the black hole. The swirling gas forms a hot plasma disk around the black hole before it disappears, and the process emits a lot of X-rays and radio waves. Using an international system of radio telescopes called the High Sensitivity Array, the team measured the so-called parallax shift of the black hole system. This method involves measuring the annual movement in the sky of the black hole system as a consequence of Earth's orbit around the sun. The team says the previous overestimation of V404 Cygni's distance was due to an underestimation of the absorption and diffraction of interstellar dust, which can give an error margin of about 50 percent. The error margin of the new measurement is less than 6 percent. The research was detailed in the Dec. 1 issue of The Astrophysical Journal.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: All (#0)
At first I thought it read "Black Ho" and of course the first thought that popped into my mind was Michelle Obama.
"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." ~ William Colby, Director, CIA 1973–1976 The purpose of the legal system is to protect the elites from the wrath of those they plunder.- Elliott Jackalope "When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it." - Frederic Bastiat
Hell, I thought they were going to spend more Tarp Money.
Better to be hated for what you are, than loved for what you are not.
An optimal extraction of spatially blended spectra Abstract We describe an algorithm to optimally extract individual spectra of blended sources from a long slit spectrum. A semi-analytic model for the spatial profile is used: a Voigt profile for the undersampled core with a numerical correction applied to the wings. This is derived from an isolated source which must also be placed on the slit. Chi-square fitting is used to separate the blended components with maximum weight given to the best data.
Avoiding foreign entanglements is the best domestic policy.
She's just a brown dwarf Hahahaha ... whoa ... earth shattering
Doing what's right isn't always easy but it's always right.
The researchers determined that the black hole V404 Cygni is located 7,800 light-years from Earth The author of the news piece doesn't seem to understand exactly how vast a distance one light year is, or he'd feel a fool for writing the quote above.
MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
There is one much much closer - located in the City of London Banking District. It is owned and controlled by the Rothschild Crime Family.
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't. ~ Anatole France
Thanks for bringing us back to Earth, OI.
Oh, I thought the others were fun too. ;-)
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't. ~ Anatole France
#2. To: F.A. Hayek Fan (#0)
#3. To: F.A. Hayek Fan (#1)
She's just a brown dwarf
#4. To: F.A. Hayek Fan, Prefrontal Vortex (#0)
#5. To: F.A. Hayek Fan (#0)
And wow, is it close.
#6. To: F.A. Hayek Fan (#0)
#7. To: Original_Intent (#6)
#8. To: randge (#7)
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest