Sending a satellite into a black hole
![sending a satellite into a black hole sending a satellite into a black hole](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/25/2019/05/10545_Speedy_flares-993251b.jpg)
Our Milky Way has several, the most famous ones being the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (these two are visible from the Southern Hemisphere). And then there are some galaxies that barely form any stars at all.Īn example of the last kind are the small kind of satellite galaxies that revolve around bigger ones. They form a lot more stars than the Milky Way, on the order of a few hundred stars per year. Consequently, the ability to form stars varies from galaxy to galaxy. The more gas, the more stars you can form. Every galaxy consists of stars and gas (and dust and dark matter). For example, our own Milky Way galaxy forms only about two stars per year. Your average galaxy won’t form new stars often. The high-speed jets of material ejected at the black hole’s poles can extend huge distances into space. The black hole itself is surrounded by a brilliant accretion disk of very hot, infalling material and, further out, a dusty torus. Why is that? Artist’s concept showing the surroundings of a supermassive black hole typical of that found at the heart of many galaxies. When small satellite galaxies travel through these bubbles, the astronomers noticed that they form new stars at a higher rate than they otherwise would. It describes how the energy of a central supermassive black hole can blow away – from the direction of the jets – intergalactic gas far, far out in the outskirts of the galaxy halo, and form “bubbles” in the gas. They are just beautiful giants!Īnd indeed, although there are unimaginable amounts of energies involved that admittedly can wreak some havoc, this new research shows something different. Keep a respectful distance and you'll be fine. They aren't "lurking" in galactic centers that's their home! They built it! They aren't "monsters." They don't "ravenously consume" everything they see. Stop demonizing supermassive black holes. Krista Smith recently expressed her thoughts about how supermassive black holes are often portrayed: Not all astronomers find the oft-used descriptions of supermassive black holes to be entirely fair. Supermassive black holes not only destructive? Satellite galaxies are small galaxies moving around a large “regular” galaxy, here represented by Andromeda, aka M31. This impressive amount of data come from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey ( SDSS), an ambitious project that has been mapping the sky for over two decades. These astronomers looked at the data of as many as 124,163 satellite galaxies that reside in the outskirts of 29,631 large galaxies, each believed to have a supermassive black hole in its centre. The peer-reviewed journal Nature published this research on June 10, 2021. Instead, the new stars are in the small satellite galaxies that exist on the outskirts of the larger galaxies. The newly forming stars wouldn’t be in the large galaxies where supermassive black holes themselves reside.
![sending a satellite into a black hole sending a satellite into a black hole](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5BceP_SZhg/Vfpm4X-CBoI/AAAAAAABKUg/rY2lQ7yCF2g/s1600/98965_web.jpg)
But maybe black holes can do more than lurk and destroy? In June 2021, astronomers said that these supermassive black holes might bring about new star birth! Plus, a supermassive black hole often sends out massive beams of destruction (better known as jets). It’s true a star that ventures too close might get spaghettified and utterly destroyed by a black hole’s strong gravity. These words make it sound as if black holes are a harbinger of destruction. Supermassive black holes are often described as devouring, monster, behemoth, lurking and so on. Image via TNG Collaboration/ Dylan Nelson/ MPG. Astronomers have found that satellite galaxies traveling through the gas-poor cavities of the bubbles form more stars than those outside of them. Notice the big bubbles to the left and right of that structure? It’s the supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy that causes these bubbles by blowing the gas away. The galaxy itself is tiny in this image: it’s the bright vertical structure in the center. This is a simulation of the gas distribution in our Milky Way galaxy.