Each note represents one of our observed sources, with binaries merging together to form bigger black holes. The bigger the black hole, the lower the note
"Now, thanks to a new, immersive visualization produced on a NASA supercomputer, viewers can plunge into the event horizon, a black hole’s point of no return."
When two black holes merge, they form a bigger black hole. This bigger black hole will have around 95% of the mass of its two parent black holes. The remaining 5% is carried away as the energy in the gravitational waves
We measure black hole masses in solar masses (our Sun is 1 solar mass)
The biggest black holes we have seen are the merger remnants for
⚫️GW200220_061928 around 140 solar masses
⚫️GW190521 around 150 solar masses
⚫️GW190426_190642 around 170 solar masses
Could these black holes go on to merge again to form even bigger black holes? Maybe! This could happen if they are in a globular cluster or a nuclear star cluster where there are many black holes in a small region
It is possible that some of the binaries we have detected already were formed this way. As we observe more ,we'll be able to uncover the details of how our black holes form
What's the smallest black hole we've detected? We're not sure!
The maximum neutron star mass is currently uncertain. We hope to measure it with future observations. We know it must be between 2 and 3 solar masses
The less massive objects of GW190814 (about 2.6 solar masses) and GW200210_092254 (about 2.8 solar masses) could be either massive neutron stars or small black holes
GW230529's black hole is in the range of the hypothesised mass gap. X-ray observations had not found black holes below 5 solar masses, so it was suggested that supernova explosions don't form black holes in this range. This observations suggestions otherwise
Low-mass black holes are less likely to swallow neutron stars whole. Hence, we could be more likely to have a counterpart to neutron star–black hole mergers that telescopes could see!
GW230529 is our first discovery announced from our fourth observing run. Its source is probably a neutron star–black hole binary, and the black hole is about 3.6 solar masses
This Orrery (by Zoheyr Doctor) illustrates the diverse black hole binaries and neutron star black–hole binaries from our O3b run. More massive binaries are shown as orbiting more slowly
How do we learn about black holes from gravitational waves? Key properties leave fingerprints in the gravitational-wave signal. This infographic from the LIGO Magazine explains more
Black holes are among the most mysterious and fascinating features of the universe, piquing the interest of scientists like Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
Happy #BlackHoleWeek to those who celebrate! Here's a pic I took a few years ago back when I worked at ESO's Paranal Observatory in #Chile. One of our 8.2 m telescopes was pointing at the centre of the #MilkyWay, home to Sagittarius A*, a #BlackHole 4 million times more massive than the #Sun.
Astronomers devoted almost a century to unmask this beast:
When two black holes merge they emit a huge amount of energy as gravitational waves. The peak luminosity in gravitational waves is greater than the luminosity in visible light of all the stars we can see in the Universe
#BlackHoleWeek: While studying one of the most distant galaxies ever observed with the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers found evidence that GN-z11 hosts a central, supermassive black hole. It is the farthest active supermassive black hole spotted to date: https://webbtelescope.pub/3IiTZtG
To celebrate #BlackHoleWeek here is a collection of images, videos, interactives, activities, and background resources about black holes from NASA's Universe of Learning.
We celebrate Cinco de Mayo today and close out Black Hole Week with this image of the Sombrero galaxy, which harbors a central super massive black hole with 1 billion solar masses and an Event Horizon diameter of 39.4 AU.
The majestic Sombrero galaxy is 50,000 light-years across and is located 30 million light-years from Earth.
Our vantage point when viewing the galaxy is just 6° above its galactic plane.
On the left is a picture of the supermassive black hole located in the M87 galaxy, which was first released in 2019 by the EHT team. On the right is a fresh image of the same black hole, generated by the PRIMO algorithm using the identical data set (2023).
Below is an artist's drawing of black hole Cygnus X-1. It formed when a large star caved in. The black hole pulls matter from the blue star beside it and ejects some of it in the pair of light-saber-like relativistic jets.
Is it really Black Hole Week?
Yes, it really is!
Well then, happy Black Hole Week to all who celebrate!!!! I wonder what the traditional food and rituals are. Probably donuts. Dark chocolate donuts would make sense.
Look closely at this spiral galaxy to spot a circled, blue dot. It marks the location of what could be a black hole weighing 20,000 Suns. Its color is the result of light from both an accretion disk and a surrounding cluster of young stars: https://bit.ly/3A9mFSb#BlackHoleWeek#BlackHole#astronomy#space