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A Very Massive Stellar Black Hole in the Milky Way Galaxy
November 27, 2001VLT ISAAC Uncovers an Enigmatic Microquasar
One of the most enigmatic stellar systems in our Milky Way Galaxy has
been shown to harbour a very massive black hole. With 14 times more
mass than the Sun, this is the heaviest known stellar black hole in
the Galaxy.
Using the ISAAC instrument on the VLT 8.2-m ANTU telescope at the ESO
Paranal Observatory, an international team of astronomers peered into
a remote area of the Milky Way to probe the binary system GRS
1915+105, located almost 40,000 light-years away.
They were able to identify the low-mass star that feeds the black hole by
means of a steady flow of stellar material. A detailed follow-up study
revealed how this star revolves around its hungry companion. The analysis
of the orbital motion then made it possible to estimate the mass of the
black hole.
The observation of the heavy black hole in GRS 1915+105 is opening up
fundamental questions about how massive stellar black holes form, and
whether or not such objects rotate around their own axes.
The team consists of Jochen Greiner, Mark McCaughrean (Astrophysical
Institute Potsdam, Germany) and Jean-Gabriel Cuby (European Southern
Observatory, Chile).
Read the details in ESO Press Release 24/01 (with three illustrations
and all weblinks), available at
http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2001/pr-24-01.html
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Paranal Observatory, an international team of astronomers peered into
a remote area of the Milky Way to probe the binary system GRS
1915+105, located almost 40,000 light-years away.
They were able to identify the low-mass star that feeds the black hole by
means of a steady flow of stellar material. A detailed follow-up study
revealed how this star revolves around its hungry companion. The analysis
of the orbital motion then made it possible to estimate the mass of the
black hole.
The observation of the heavy black hole in GRS 1915+105 is opening up
fundamental questions about how massive stellar black holes form, and
whether or not such objects rotate around their own axes.
The team consists of Jochen Greiner, Mark McCaughrean (Astrophysical
Institute Potsdam, Germany) and Jean-Gabriel Cuby (European Southern
Observatory, Chile).
Read the details in ESO Press Release 24/01 (with three illustrations
and all weblinks), available at
http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2001/pr-24-01.html
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Black Hole Current Events and Black Hole News RSSWatching a Cannibal Galaxy Dine
A new technique using near-infrared images, obtained with ESO's 3.58-metre New Technology Telescope (NTT), allows astronomers to see through the opaque dust lanes of the giant cannibal galaxy Centaurus A, unveiling its "last meal" in unprecedented detail - a smaller spiral galaxy, currently twisted and warped.
Swift XMM-Newton Satellites Tune Into a Middleweight Black Hole
While astronomers have studied lightweight and heavyweight black holes for decades, the evidence for black holes with intermediate masses has been much harder to come by.
New vista of Milky Way center unveiled
A dramatic new vista of the center of the Milky Way galaxy from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory exposes new levels of the complexity and intrigue in the Galactic center.
Invading black holes explain cosmic flashes
Black holes are invading stars, providing a radical explanation to bright flashes in the universe that are one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy today.
Sophisticated telescope camera debuts with peek at nest of black holes
Less than two months after they inaugurated the world's largest telescope, University of Florida astronomers have used one of the world's most advanced telescopic instruments to gather images of the heavens.
NGC 4945: The Milky Way's not-so-distant Cousin
ESO has released a striking new image of a nearby galaxy that many astronomers think closely resembles our own Milky Way.
First Black Holes Born Starving
The first black holes in the universe had dramatic effects on their surroundings despite the fact that they were small and grew very slowly, according to recent supercomputer simulations carried out by astrophysicists Marcelo Alvarez and Tom Abel of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, jointly located at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, and John Wise, formerly of KIPAC and now of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
First black holes kept to a strict diet, study shows
A new supercomputer simulation designed to track the fate of the universe's first black holes finds that, counter to expectations, they couldn't efficiently gorge themselves on nearby gas.
Goddard-Led GEMS Mission to Explore the Polarized Universe
An exciting new astrophysics mission led by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will provide a revolutionary window into the universe. Named the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer (GEMS), the satellite will be the first to systematically measure the polarization of cosmic X-ray sources.
Turbulence responsible for black holes' balancing act
We live in a hierarchical Universe where small structures join into larger ones. Earth is a planet in our Solar System, the Solar System resides in the Milky Way Galaxy, and galaxies combine into groups and clusters.
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