© NASA's Goddard Space centerA stream of gas falling onto a black hole may have generated a massive X-ray light show.
After taking a 26-year nap, a waking black hole released a burst of X-rays that lit up astronomical observatories on June 15 — and it's still making a ruckus today.
Astronomers identified the revived black hole as an "X-ray nova" — a sudden increase in star luminosity — coming from a binary system in the constellation Cygnus. The outburst may have been caused by material falling into a
black hole.
The burst was first caught by NASA's Swift satellite, and then by a Japanese experiment on the International Space Station, called Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). [
Black Hole Wakes Up With A Bang (Video)]
"Relative to the lifetime of space observatories, these black-hole eruptions are quite rare," Neil Gehrels, Swift's principal investigator at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a statement. "So, when we see one of them flare up, we try to throw everything we have at it, monitoring across the spectrum, from radio waves to gamma-rays."
The binary system responsible for the eruption is called V404 Cygni, according to the
statement from NASA. It's made up of a star slightly smaller than the sun that orbits a black hole 10 times its mass. The orbital period is just 6.5 days, which makes it more than 10 times faster than Mercury orbits our own sun, the statement said.
Because the star orbits so closely to the
black hole, the massive body pulls a stream of gas away from the star. Over time, the gas forms into a disc around the black hole.
When the gas is cooler, it's able to resist the black hole's pull. But as more gas gathers and it warms, eventually, the dam bursts, and gas is pulled toward the black hole. The rapidly moving, hot gas radiates an outburst of X-rays as it falls toward the gaping black maw, according to NASA.
This stellar duo has been active before, but only sporadically.
The system was caught fluctuating in visible light in 1938 and 1956, and then in X-rays in 1989. The latter outburst was observed by instruments aboard
Russia's Mir space station and a Japanese X-ray satellite called Ginga.
Since this most recent outburst began, V404 Cygni has fluctuated several times in brightness — sometimes up to 50 times brighter than the Crab Nebula, a very bright source in X-rays, said Erik Kuulkers, a project scientist for the European Space Agency's INTEGRAL satellite, one of the satellites that is studying V4040 Cygni. It also has caused more than 70 "triggers" of the burst monitor on NASA's
Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in a single week. Usually, in the same time period, the telescope sees five times fewer triggers from all objects across the sky.
These triggers send email alerts to professional astronomers in the field, which led to a unique problem: "Achievement unlocked: Mailbox spammed by a black hole," David Yu, a scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, who works on the Fermi gamma-ray burst monitor, joked on social media.
The flares are ongoing. Many observatories around the world — including Swift, Fermi, MAXI, INTEGRAL and the Italian Space Agency's AGILE — will continue to follow the bursts.
Ground-based professional observatories following the activity include the Gran Telescopio Canarias (Spain), the University of Leicester's 0.5-meter telescope in Oadby (United Kingdom) and Waseda University's Nasu radio telescope (Japan).
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Q: (L) In terms of major STS, this may or may not be related, could you tell us the nature of a Black Hole?
A: Grand Scale STS. Black Holes are a natural force reflection of Free Will consciousness pattern of STS. Notice that Black Holes are located at center of spiral energy forces, all else radiates outward. All in creation is just that: a radiating wave.
Q: (L) Where does the energy go that gets sucked into a black hole?
A: Inward to total nonexistence. Universe is all encompassing. Black holes are final destination of all STS energy. Total nonexistence balances total existence. Guess what is total existence? "God." Prime Creator. As long as you exist, you are of the Prime Creator.
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"a scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany"
Max Planck? Really? :/
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05-31-97
Q: Change gears: Ark has been having a problem sleeping at night and staying awake in the office. The building is a number 9, but there is also the Max Planck Institute across the street. Is it the number 9, or the Max Planck Institute across the street?
A: Well, we vote for Max!
Q: So, what are they doing over there in that building that is affecting him?
A: Better question: What are "they" doing on 4th density that is affecting him?
Q: Since that is a better question, what ARE they doing on 4th density that is affecting Ark?
A: Guess.
Q: Is he being abducted from this building?
A: No.
Q: Are they STS or STO?
A: STS.
Q: Are they zapping him with some kind of frequency modulation?
A: Close.
Q: Why is it more effective in that building than in the basement or at his hotel?
A: Because of Max.
Q: Okay, they are using whatever is going on in that building to zap Ark. Anything else they are doing there?
A: Yes.
Q: Could you tell me what?
A: No
Q: Is there anything else they are doing to Ark?
A: Yes.
Q: Can you tell me?
A: Body chemistry alteration.
Q: In what sense is there body chemistry alteration going on?
A: Brain wave factors.
Q: Is there something he can do for protection?
A: He soon will leave the area.
Q: Well, during the time he is there, how much damage can they do?
A: Probably not much.
Q: Is there any other step he can take other than going to the library or staying in his hotel?
A: Good idea!
Q: Anything else?
A: One shot of whiskey per day will help.
Q: Well, that is a bizarre thing to say! A shot of whiskey?! That will help his brain chemistry?
A: Some.
Q: What is this altering of his brain chemistry designed to do?
A: Befuddle.
Q: Well, I think it is working. Any other suggestion? Come on, we are you in the past! Help us out here!
A: Then you will know in the "future."
Q: Well, then, since I know in the future, why don't I tell me in the past anything else that will help besides staying in the hotel, or the basement, and drinking a shot of whiskey a day?
A: No need.
Q: And you are not going to tell us what they are doing over there in the Max Planck Institute?
A: As Carlos Allende would say: "If you knew, you would die of shock."
[/] ~ [Link]