MessageToEagle.com - It is still unknown how the supermassive black holes (SMBH) in galaxy centres accrete gas and grow.
Researchers from the University of Leicester (UK) and Monash University in Australia have investigated how some
black holes got so big so fast that they are billions of times heavier than the sun.
Recently they have put forward a new theory about why black holes become so hugely massive - claiming some of
them have no 'table manners', and tip their 'food' directly into their mouths, eating more than one course simultaneously.
"Almost every galaxy has an enormously massive black hole in its centre. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, has one about
four million times heavier than the sun.
But some galaxies have black holes a thousand times heavier still. We know they grew very quickly after the Big Bang,"
Professor Andrew King from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, said.
"These hugely massive black holes were already full--grown when the universe was very young, less than a tenth of its present age."
Black holes grow by sucking in gas.
This forms a disc around the hole and spirals in, but usually so slowly that the holes could not have grown to these
huge masses in the entire age of the universe.
"We needed a faster mechanism,' says Chris Nixon, also at Leicester, "so we wondered what would happen if gas came in
from different directions."
Artist concept of a growing black hole, or quasar, seen at the center of a faraway galaxy. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Nixon, King and their colleague Daniel Price in Australia made a computer simulation of two gas discs orbiting a black
hole at different angles.
After a short time the discs spread and collide, and large amounts of gas fall into the hole.
According to their calculations black holes can grow 1,000 times faster when this happens.
"If two guys ride motorbikes on a Wall of Death and they collide, they lose the centrifugal force holding them to the
walls and fall," says King. The same thing happens to the gas in these discs, and it falls in towards the hole.
This may explain how these black holes got so big so fast. "We don't know exactly how gas flows inside galaxies in
the early universe," said King, "but I think it is very promising that if the flows are chaotic it is very easy for
the black hole to feed."
The two biggest black holes ever discovered are each about ten billion times bigger than the Sun.
The research, funded by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, is due to published in the Monthly Notices
of the Royal Astronomical Society.
MessageToEagle.com via University of Leicester/http://www.astro.le.ac.uk/~cjn12/papers/twist.pdf
Abnormal Star Discovered In The 'Forbidden Zone'
A team of astrophysicists from Germany, France and Italy have discovered in the constellation Leo is an old star.
The star's existence raised at once many questions for scientists.
The object is definitely not as its "contemporaries" that appeared immediately after the Big Bang event.
Thermonuclear Burning In A Neutron Star Detected For The First Time!
It's a very important discovery!
For the first time, an international team of scientists have detected all phases of thermonuclear burning in a
neutron star, located close to the center of the galaxy in the globular cluster Terzan 5.
Gigantic Icebergs Floating In Space
The origin of Earth's water is hotly debated. New discoveries suggest that our planet's seas could once have been giant icebergs floating through space.
The reason why it remains unclear how our oceans were created is because our planet formed at such high temperatures that any original water must have evaporated.
Bright Star In The Constellation Lyra Is Cooler Than The Human Body
The coldest class of stars have temperatures as cool as the human body.
Astronomers hunted these dark orbs, termed Y dwarfs, for more than a decade without success.
When viewed with a visible-light telescope, they are nearly impossible to see.
Is The Universe Infinite?
Explore the biggest question of all. How far do the stars stretch out into space? What's beyond them?
In modern times, we built giant telescopes that have allowed us to cast our gaze deep into the universe. Astronomers have
been able to look back to near the time of its birth. They've reconstructed the course of cosmic history in astonishing detail.
Near-Miss Asteroid 2012 DA14 Returns Next Year
This time, the asteroid is going to miss our planet, but it comes back next year.
When it whizzes past Earth in 2013, a newly discovered asteroid is going to miss our planet – but not by much.
The 50 m space rock is expected to come closer than many satellites, highlighting the growing need to keep watch on hazards from above.
Astronomical Mystery - Tremendous Explosion And Appearance Of Odd Rings
Twenty five years ago, on 1987 February 23, the brightest supernova of modern times was observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The collision occurred at speeds near 60 million kilometers per hour and shock-heats the ring material causing it to glow.
Over time, astronomers have watched and waited for the expanding debris from this tremendous stellar explosion to crash into previously expelled material...
Doesn't Secret Dark Matter Exist?
The more scientists study dark matter they know lesser and are not particularly optimistic about their results.
After completing this study, we know less about dark matter than we did before," said Matt Walker, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
A mysterious and still unknown substance is totally invisible in the Universe and reveals its presence only through its gravitational pull...
Dwarf Irregular Galaxy That Forces Scientists To Re-Evaluate Old Theory
Astronomers from Center for Astrophysics of the University of Porto, Portugal and Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden come up
with new findings regarding one of the most studied objects - the dwarf galaxy I Zw 18.
The results led the scientists to the conclusion that this enigmatic blue compact dwarf might force
astronomers to review current galaxy formation models and much of what is known about galaxy formation and evolution might need substantial revision.
MessageToEagle.com - It is still unknown how the supermassive black holes (SMBH) in galaxy centres accrete gas and grow.
A team of astrophysicists from Germany, France and Italy have discovered in the constellation Leo is an old star.
The star's existence raised at once many questions for scientists.
The object is definitely not as its "contemporaries" that appeared immediately after the Big Bang event.
It's a very important discovery!
For the first time, an international team of scientists have detected all phases of thermonuclear burning in a
neutron star, located close to the center of the galaxy in the globular cluster Terzan 5.
The origin of Earth's water is hotly debated. New discoveries suggest that our planet's seas could once have been giant icebergs floating through space.
The reason why it remains unclear how our oceans were created is because our planet formed at such high temperatures that any original water must have evaporated.
The coldest class of stars have temperatures as cool as the human body.
Astronomers hunted these dark orbs, termed Y dwarfs, for more than a decade without success.
When viewed with a visible-light telescope, they are nearly impossible to see.
Explore the biggest question of all. How far do the stars stretch out into space? What's beyond them?
In modern times, we built giant telescopes that have allowed us to cast our gaze deep into the universe. Astronomers have
been able to look back to near the time of its birth. They've reconstructed the course of cosmic history in astonishing detail.
This time, the asteroid is going to miss our planet, but it comes back next year.
Twenty five years ago, on 1987 February 23, the brightest supernova of modern times was observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The more scientists study dark matter they know lesser and are not particularly optimistic about their results.
Astronomers from Center for Astrophysics of the University of Porto, Portugal and Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden come up
with new findings regarding one of the most studied objects - the dwarf galaxy I Zw 18.