December 1, 2023
Some 3.9 billion years ago in the heart of a distant galaxy, the tidal pull of a monster black hole shredded a star that wandered too close. X-rays produced in this event first reached Earth on March 28, 2011, when they were detected by NASA's Swift satellite. Within days, scientists concluded that the outburst, now known as Swift J1644+57, represented both the tidal disruption of a star and the sudden flare-up of a previously inactive black hole.
Now astronomers using archival observations from Swift, the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton observatory and the Japan-led Suzaku satellite have identified the reflections of X-ray flares erupting during the event. Led by Erin Kara, a postdoctoral researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the University of Maryland, College Park, the team has used these light echoes, or reverberations, to map the flow of gas near a newly awakened black hole for the first time.
Swift J1644+57 is one of only three tidal disruptions that have produced high-energy X-rays, and to date it remains the only event caught at the peak of this emission. While astronomers don't yet understand what causes flares near the black hole, when one occurs they can detect its echo a couple of minutes later as its light washes over structures in the developing accretion disk. The technique, called X-ray reverberation mapping, has been used before to explore stable disks around black holes, but this is time it has been applied to a newly formed disk produced by a tidal disruption.
Swift J1644+57's accretion disk was thicker, more turbulent and more chaotic than stable disks, which have had time to settle down into an orderly routine. One surprise is that high-energy X-rays arise from the innermost regions of the disk instead of a narrow jet of accelerated particles, as originally thought.
The researchers estimate the black hole has a mass about a million times that of the sun. They expect future improvements in understanding and modeling accretion flows will allow them to measure the black hole's spin using this data.
-
33:55
World Nomac
5 hours agoThe ultimate 3 days in Tokyo Japan 🇯🇵
2.81K -
1:03:08
In The Litter Box w/ Jewels & Catturd
20 hours agoKamala's Haitian Invasion | In the Litter Box w/ Jewels & Catturd – Ep. 642 – 9/9/2024
37K46 -
17:30
Breaking Points
5 hours agoKamala LOSING To Trump In Latest NYT Poll
29.6K30 -
1:19:13
marygracemedia
3 hours agoMARY GRACE: SPYTALK WITH SAM THE SPY | LAWFARE, TREASON, ENEMY INSIDE THE WIRE
23.5K6 -
LIVE
FusedAegisTV
4 days ago24 HOUR LIVESTREAM! 1st Edition | Games, Music, MAGA Politics, Mod Mondays, 100% Free Speech CHAT
397 watching -
1:12:29
The Quartering
6 hours agoShock Trump Poll Has Liberals Melting Down, Haitian Illegals Are Eating Pets & Debate Predictions
52.5K60 -
2:21:54
Barstool Yak
8 hours agoThe Yak with Big Cat & Co. Presented by Rhoback | The Yak 9-9-24
38.8K1 -
2:04:33
The Dilley Show
8 hours agoDebate Eve, Kamala Feeds Your Pets to Haitians and More! w/Author Brenden Dilley 09/09/2024
38K22 -
1:26:12
Russell Brand
7 hours agoWAR WAR WAR!! Cheney Endorses Kamala + US Drops Ukraine BOMBSHELL Revelation! SF448
158K289 -
59:24
Graham Allen
5 hours agoIn The HotSeat Episode 4: Steph Curry Is NOT a Christian!
51.3K39