© NASA/ESA/STScI/W.P. Maksym (CfA)
Hubble image showing bright rays and dark shadows coming from the blazing core of the galaxy IC 5063.
Hubble image showing bright rays and dark shadows coming from the blazing core of the galaxy IC 5063.
Black holes are the universe's greatest monsters, rapidly consuming everything in their vicinity. Their gravity is so powerful that not even light can escape them, an extraordinary fact which also makes them invisible to us and thus incredibly hard to study.
However, experts have noticed vast shadows and narrow, bright rays stretching out from the center of the galaxy IC 5063, as if something enormous is standing in the way of the intense light.
© NASA, ESA, STScI/W.P. Maksym (CfA)
Bright rays and dark shadows coming from the blazing core of the galaxy IC 5063.
Bright rays and dark shadows coming from the blazing core of the galaxy IC 5063.
Some shafts of light penetrate the gaps in the dust ring, creating bright rays that resemble the beams of light that can be seen radiating from the sun at sunset.
"We think we've found evidence that there is probably dust all over the galaxy scattering light from the accreting black hole in the galaxy's active nucleus, and that the light can illuminate almost the whole galaxy," explained astronomer Peter Maksym of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Because scientists have never witnessed this phenomenon before, it may take them some time to definitively prove that a black hole is causing the strange shadows and beams. However, the development presents a tantalizing scientific discovery and a rich opportunity for further research.
© NASA, ESA, and Z. Levy (STScI)
Illustration depicting explanation for the mysterious bright rays and dark shadows emanating from IC 5063.
Illustration depicting explanation for the mysterious bright rays and dark shadows emanating from IC 5063.
