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Astronomers Find Suspected Medium-Size Black Hole in Omega Centauri
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By NASA
Hubble Space Telescope Home NASA’s Hubble Finds More… Missions Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Hubble News Archive Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts E-books Lithographs Fact Sheets Glossary Posters Hubble on the NASA App More Online Activities 4 Min Read NASA’s Hubble Finds More Black Holes than Expected in the Early Universe
The Hubble Ultra Deep Field of nearly 10,000 galaxies is the deepest visible-light image of the cosmos. The image required 800 exposures taken over 400 Hubble orbits around Earth. The total amount of exposure time was 11.3 days, taken between Sept. 24, 2003 and Jan. 16, 2004. Credits:
NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF Team With the help of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, an international team of researchers led by scientists in the Department of Astronomy at Stockholm University has found more black holes in the early universe than has previously been reported. The new result can help scientists understand how supermassive black holes were created.
Currently, scientists do not have a complete picture of how the first black holes formed not long after the big bang. It is known that supermassive black holes, that can weigh more than a billion suns, exist at the center of several galaxies less than a billion years after the big bang.
“Many of these objects seem to be more massive than we originally thought they could be at such early times — either they formed very massive or they grew extremely quickly,” said Alice Young, a PhD student from Stockholm University and co-author of the study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
This is a new image of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The first deep imaging of the field was done with Hubble in 2004. The same survey field was observed again by Hubble several years later, and was then reimaged in 2023. By comparing Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 near-infrared exposures taken in 2009, 2012, and 2023, astronomers found evidence for flickering supermassive black holes in the hearts of early galaxies. One example is seen as a bright object in the inset. Some supermassive black holes do not swallow surrounding material constantly, but in fits and bursts, making their brightness flicker. This can be detected by comparing Hubble Ultra Deep Field frames taken at different epochs. The survey found more black holes than predicted. NASA, ESA, Matthew Hayes (Stockholm University); Acknowledgment: Steven V.W. Beckwith (UC Berkeley), Garth Illingworth (UC Santa Cruz), Richard Ellis (UCL); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
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Black holes play an important role in the lifecycle of all galaxies, but there are major uncertainties in our understanding of how galaxies evolve. In order to gain a complete picture of the link between galaxy and black hole evolution, the researchers used Hubble to survey how many black holes exist among a population of faint galaxies when the universe was just a few percent of its current age.
Initial observations of the survey region were re-photographed by Hubble after several years. This allowed the team to measure variations in the brightness of galaxies. These variations are a telltale sign of black holes. The team identified more black holes than previously found by other methods.
The new observational results suggest that some black holes likely formed by the collapse of massive, pristine stars during the first billion years of cosmic time. These types of stars can only exist at very early times in the universe, because later-generation stars are polluted by the remnants of stars that have already lived and died. Other alternatives for black hole formation include collapsing gas clouds, mergers of stars in massive clusters, and “primordial” black holes that formed (by physically speculative mechanisms) in the first few seconds after the big bang. With this new information about black hole formation, more accurate models of galaxy formation can be constructed.
“The formation mechanism of early black holes is an important part of the puzzle of galaxy evolution,” said Matthew Hayes from the Department of Astronomy at Stockholm University and lead author of the study. “Together with models for how black holes grow, galaxy evolution calculations can now be placed on a more physically motivated footing, with an accurate scheme for how black holes came into existence from collapsing massive stars.”
Image Before/After Astronomers are also making observations with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to search for galactic black holes that formed soon after the big bang, to understand how massive they were and where they were located.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, Colorado, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
Science Contact:
Matthew Hayes
Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Last Updated Sep 17, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Black Holes Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Hubble
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble Science Highlights
Hubble Online Activities
Hubble Focus: Dark Universe
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By European Space Agency
With the help of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, an international team of researchers led by scientists in the Department of Astronomy at Stockholm University has found more black holes in the early Universe than has previously been reported. The new result can help scientists understand how supermassive black holes were created.
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By NASA
NASA’s Artemis campaign is a series of lunar missions to further explore the lunar landscape to prepare for future missions to Mars. The Artemis missions will send humans to land on the moon and explore the lunar south pole. This will be NASA’s first human lunar landing since the Apollo missions over 50 years ago. The Artemis missions will be landing at the lunar south pole; this area is of interest because the permanently shadowed regions that exist there may be traps for water ice which could be accessed to support future missions to Mars. One area of interest is Shackleton Crater, measuring 13 miles (21 km) in diameter and 2.6 miles (4.2 km) deep. The crater has steep sides and continuous shadows cause the floor of the crater to be below 90 K and may have water ice trapped beneath the surface. To support these missions, NASA is seeking two solutions: one low-tech and one high-tech. While both solutions are related to navigation, they are independent challenges and solutions. For Challenge 1, NASA is seeking an orienteering aid that will help the astronauts navigate on traverses away from the lunar lander and return back. While there were similar devices available to the Apollo astronauts, NASA is looking for new and unique solutions. Among other considerations, devices must be accurate, easy to use, able to be used on the moon’s surface by an astronaut wearing pressurized gloves. If your solution is one of the best, you could be eligible for a share of the $15,000 prize purse. For Challenge 2, NASA is looking for assistance in getting to and mapping the bottom of Shackleton Crater. The design must work in the extreme conditions of the lunar south pole and Shackleton Crater, map the crater, characterize and quantify what is in the crater, and send the data back to be used for future missions. If you can solve this challenge by describing your design concept in detail, you could be eligible for a share of the $30,000 prize purse.
Award: $50,000 in total prizes
Open Date: September 4, 2024
Close Date: November 25, 2024
For more information, visit: https://www.freelancer.com/contest/Find-Me-on-the-Moon-NASA-Lunar-Navigation-Challenge-2442541/details
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By NASA
Hubble Space Telescope Home NASA’s Hubble, Chandra… Missions Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Hubble News Archive Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts E-books Lithographs Fact Sheets Glossary Posters Hubble on the NASA App More Online Activities 5 min read
NASA’s Hubble, Chandra Find Supermassive Black Hole Duo
This is an artist’s depiction of a pair of active black holes at the heart of two merging galaxies. They are both surrounded by an accretion disk of hot gas. Some of the material is ejected along the spin axis of each black hole. Confined by powerful magnetic fields, the jets blaze across space at nearly the speed of light as devastating beams of energy. NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)
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Like two Sumo wrestlers squaring off, the closest confirmed pair of supermassive black holes have been observed in tight proximity. These are located approximately 300 light-years apart and were detected using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. These black holes, buried deep within a pair of colliding galaxies, are fueled by infalling gas and dust, causing them to shine brightly as active galactic nuclei (AGN).
This AGN pair is the closest one detected in the local universe using multiwavelength (visible and X-ray light) observations. While several dozen “dual” black holes have been found before, their separations are typically much greater than what was discovered in the gas-rich galaxy MCG-03-34-64. Astronomers using radio telescopes have observed one pair of binary black holes in even closer proximity than in MCG-03-34-64, but without confirmation in other wavelengths.
AGN binaries like this were likely more common in the early universe when galaxy mergers were more frequent. This discovery provides a unique close-up look at a nearby example, located about 800 million light-years away.
A Hubble Space Telescope visible-light image of the galaxy MCG-03-34-064. Hubble’s sharp view reveals three distinct bright spots embedded in a white ellipse at the galaxy’s center (expanded in an inset image at upper right). Two of these bright spots are the source of strong X-ray emission, a telltale sign that they are supermassive black holes. The black holes shine brightly because they are converting infalling matter into energy, and blaze across space as active galactic nuclei. Their separation is about 300 light-years. The third spot is a blob of bright gas. The blue streak pointing to the 5 o’clock position may be a jet fired from one of the black holes. The black hole pair is a result of a merger between two galaxies that will eventually collide. NASA, ESA, Anna Trindade Falcão (CfA); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
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The discovery was serendipitous. Hubble’s high-resolution imaging revealed three optical diffraction spikes nested inside the host galaxy, indicating a large concentration of glowing oxygen gas within a very small area. “We were not expecting to see something like this,” said Anna Trindade Falcão of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian in Cambridge, Massachusetts, lead author of the paper published today in The Astrophysical Journal. “This view is not a common occurrence in the nearby universe, and told us there’s something else going on inside the galaxy.”
Diffraction spikes are imaging artifacts caused when light from a very small region in space bends around the mirror inside telescopes.
Falcão’s team then examined the same galaxy in X-rays light using the Chandra observatory to drill into what’s going on. “When we looked at MCG-03-34-64 in the X-ray band, we saw two separated, powerful sources of high-energy emission coincident with the bright optical points of light seen with Hubble. We put these pieces together and concluded that we were likely looking at two closely spaced supermassive black holes,” said Falcão.
In a surprise finding, astronomers, using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that the jet from a supermassive black hole at the core of M87, a huge galaxy 54 million light years away, seems to cause stars to erupt along its trajectory. The stars, called novae, are not caught inside the jet, but in a dangerous area near it.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center; Lead Producer: Paul Morris To support their interpretation, the researchers used archival radio data from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array near Socorro, New Mexico. The energetic black hole duo also emits powerful radio waves. “When you see bright light in optical, X-rays, and radio wavelengths, a lot of things can be ruled out, leaving the conclusion these can only be explained as close black holes. When you put all the pieces together it gives you the picture of the AGN duo,” said Falcão.
The third source of bright light seen by Hubble is of unknown origin, and more data is needed to understand it. That might be gas that is shocked by energy from a jet of ultra high-speed plasma fired from one of the black holes, like a stream of water from a garden hose blasting into a pile of sand.
“We wouldn’t be able to see all of these intricacies without Hubble’s amazing resolution,” said Falcão.
The two supermassive black holes were once at the core of their respective host galaxies. A merger between the galaxies brought the black holes into close proximity. They will continue to spiral closer together until they eventually merge — in perhaps 100 million years — rattling the fabric of space and time as gravitational waves.
The National Science Foundation’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) has detected gravitational waves from dozens of mergers between stellar-mass black holes. But the longer wavelengths resulting from a supermassive black hole merger are beyond LIGO’s capabilities. The next-generation gravitational wave detector, called the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, will consist of three detectors in space, separated by millions of miles, to capture these longer wavelength gravitational waves from deep space. ESA (European Space Agency) is leading this mission, partnering with NASA and other participating institutions, with a planned launch in the mid-2030s.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science from Cambridge, Massachusetts and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts. Northrop Grumman Space Technologies in Redondo Beach, California was the prime contractor for the spacecraft.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, Colorado, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Media Contacts:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
Science Contact:
Anna Trindade Falcão
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA
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Last Updated Sep 09, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Active Galaxies Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Chandra X-Ray Observatory Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Marshall Space Flight Center Missions Spiral Galaxies The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Hubble
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Galaxy Details and Mergers
Monster Black Holes Are Everywhere
Hubble’s Galaxies
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Meet four employees from NASA’s Glenn Research Center who have a personal connection to aviation, at work and beyond.Credit: (Left to right): Waldo Acosta, Jared Berg, Lori Manthey, Lindsay Kaldon The first “A” in NASA stands for aeronautics. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is just one of several NASA centers conducting revolutionary research to make flight cleaner, safer, and quieter.
But an interest in flying goes beyond the professional for many at NASA. Meet a handful of NASA Glenn employees who have a personal connection to aviation, at work and beyond.
Jared Berg
“I think my flying and engineering work positively influence each other. Flying integrates a lot of technical disciplines and serves as a real-word application of things I know theoretically about aerodynamics or heat transfer.”
jared berg
Thermal Subsystem Manager for Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element
Left photo: Jared Berg flying above the clouds in the the NASAIRS Flying Club’s Cessna 172. Right photo: A view out the plane window.Credit: Jared Berg Planting the Seed: Berg grew up reading aviation books with his family and building model planes. Attending the EAA AirVenture airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, throughout childhood inspired him to pursue flight training once he had a full-time NASA job.
Joining the Club: Berg is currently a member of the NASAIRS Flying Club at NASA Glenn, which he says helps make flying more accessible and lets him constantly learn from other pilots.
Flying High: Berg has now been flying recreationally for over a decade and considers it a part of his everyday life. “Flying allows an escape from the mundane and brings a sense of adventure to traveling,” Berg said. “You also get to experience nature, specifically weather but also the land you’re flying over, in a way that’s relatively raw and somehow personal.”
Lindsay Kaldon
"I love the feeling after takeoff and when you’ve reached cruising altitude. It’s as if all the stresses of life wash away when you’re up there in the sky. Being up in the clouds with all the beauty of the Earth below, it’s as if you’re in heaven.”
Lindsay Kaldon
Fission Surface Power Project Manager
Left photo: Lindsay Kaldon after her first solo flight. Right photo: Kaldon celebrates passing her private pilot exam.Credit: Lindsay Kaldon Air Force and Astronauts: Kaldon’s father was an Air Force F-16 crew chief and a member of the Thunderbirds demonstration team, so Kaldon was no stranger to jets growing up. “Every day was an airshow living on the base that they trained out of,” Kaldon said. After earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Kaldon joined the Air Force herself with hopes of one day becoming an astronaut.
Going Solo: Kaldon later earned her private pilot’s license and says she’ll always remember her first solo cross-country flight. She chose Kitty Hawk, the site of the Wright brothers’ first flight, as her destination.
Keeping the Energy: A monument that stands along the runway at Kitty Hawk is inscribed with words Kaldon remembers whenever solving difficult challenges through her work at NASA. “It says, ‘Achieved by Dauntless Resolution and Unconquerable Faith.’ The Wright brothers were faced with a lot of doubters who didn’t think flight was possible. Yet they proved them wrong and never gave up,” Kaldon said. “I love that. When things get tough, I just close my eyes and think about that phrase.”
Lori Manthey
“I encourage anyone who has an interest in flying to take a discovery flight at your local airport. If you get bitten by the flying bug, it just may become a life-long obsession. Ask me how I know!”
Lori Manthey
Chief of Administrative Services and Exchange Operations Manager
Left photo: Lori Manthey with a Grumman Cheetah plane. Right photo: Lori Manthey at the Grumman Cheetah controls.Credit: Lori Manthey Head in the Clouds: After a discovery flight in a small Cessna 150 plane, Manthey was hooked on flying. On weekends and evenings after beginning a full-time NASA job, she hopped in a Piper Tomahawk single-engine trainer at Lorain County Regional Airport to earn her private pilot certificate. “I love the feeling of floating in the air and seeing the world below,” she said.
Women in Aero: Manthey is passionate about advancing and supporting female pilots and currently serves as membership chair of the Lake Erie chapter of the Ninety-Nines, an organization started by Amelia Earhart in 1929. She is also a member of the Cleveland chapter of Women in Aviation.
Looking to the Future: Every year, Manthey participates in Girls in Aviation Day at Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport to introduce girls to the world of aviation. “I think it is so important to help encourage young women and girls to become part of the next generation of female pilots,” she said.
Back in the Cockpit: Manthey is currently working to earn her instrument rating, which will let her fly “blind” in cloudy and foggy weather conditions.
Waldo J. Acosta
“Flying gives me a thrill. The perspective you’re able to see of the world from up in the sky is a special feeling. Aircraft have the ability to take us all over the world so we can experience different cultures and meet different people, and that has shaped me into who I am today.”
Waldo J. Acosta
Icing Research Tunnel Lead Facility Engineer
Left photo: Waldo J. Acosta, right, stands beside his father before taking him for a ride in a DA20 aircraft. Top right photo: A young Acosta and his father at the EAA AirVenture airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Lower right photo: Acosta (center) works with colleagues Tadas Bartkus (left) and Emily Timko in the control room of NASA Glenn Research Center’s Icing Research Tunnel. Credit: Waldo J. Acosta, NASA/Jef Janis Family Ties: Throughout Acosta’s childhood, Acosta’s father, a former researcher at NASA Glenn, brought his family along on work trips to the EAA AirVenture airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. “I fell in love with everything related to flying during those trips, and they set the tone early on my path to working in aviation,” Acosta said.
Next Steps: Acosta started taking flying lessons while studying aerospace engineering at The Ohio State University, eventually receiving his private pilot’s license.
Safety First: Overseeing testing and maintenance operations at NASA Glenn’s Icing Research Tunnel, Acosta is now directly involved in aviation safety research. The facility, the longest-running icing wind tunnel in the world, helps NASA and industry study how ice affects aircraft and test ice protection systems and tools.
Flying Full Circle: Acosta still attends airshows every chance he can get and has taken both his father and wife soaring into the clouds.
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
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