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Black hole eruption as big as 16 Moons captured in ‘most comprehensive’ image — Analysis

Scientists captured images of an enormous black hole 12 million light-years from Earth.

The nearest supermassive blackhole that is actively feeding has been studied and it revealed radio bubbles. These are extended over large areas of space, when the phenomenon feeds off infalling gas.

This was Dr. Benjamin McKinley of Curtin University, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research. He led the research and published it in Nature Astronomy December 22. “most comprehensive”Image to date illustrates the extent of disturbance caused by supermassive black hole feed.

McKinley’s work provides some of the most stunning images ever taken of Earth’s closest radio galaxy neighbor, Centaurus A. This star system is 12 million light-years away and has a central black hole.

Radio bubbles are seen in images taken in Australia by Murchison Widefield Array’s (MWA) telescope. They form when infalling gas is fed on and eject material at very near-light speed. 

These radio bubbles – or ‘lobes’, as they are known to radio astronomers – appear to be 48 times the size of the host galaxy itself and currently extend eight degrees across the sky, approximately the length of 16 of Earth’s moons laid side by side.

McKinley explained that the lobes create a “disc around the black holes” and, as matter is ripped apart, strong jets develop on each side of the disc. These jets eject most of it back into space at distances probably greater than one million light-years.

This research is able to overcome the shortcomings of previous studies, he stated. “Previous radio images could not cope with the intense brightness of jets and the details surrounding the galaxy were blurred. But our image now overcomes all these limitations.”According to the scientist,

Astronomer says that this study is only one of many, and other scientists will continue to work with him in order to better understand how black holes interact with the world around them.

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