ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. J. Koss, A. J. Barth
A hungry black hole dwells in the depths of this galaxy. Only now could Hubble discover it, with a revealing image.
The Hubble telescope detected a new surprise: a Voraz Black Hole Supermassivecovered by dust but shining in x-rays, has so far hidden in the apparently Serena Galaxy Spiral UGC 11397.
It is almost hidden in the dense dust, but powerful X-rays escape this veil and reveal that, after all, this galaxy has nothing.
“At first glance, UGC 11397 seems to be a common spiral galaxy: it has two graceful spiral arms, illuminated by stars and defined by dark and irregular dust clouds,” ESA said.
“What distinguishes UGC 11397 from a typical spiral is in its center, where a supermassive black hole with 174 million times the sun’s mass is growing.”
In the core of UGC 11397, as the hubble images reveal, a supermassive black hole, with a mass 174 million times higher than the sun, is the Actively feed on gas, dust, and even nearby stars.
As this material is attracted to the inside, it warms, emitting radiation throughout the spectrum, from gamma rays to radio waves.
Hubble’s observations will help researchers measure the mass of closest black holes, explains, which refers to this discovery as a “Cosmic Monster”.
The discovery can even help to realize how stars form in the extreme environment found in the center of a galaxy.
