A team of astronomers who were looking at a black hole with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope made an unexpected discovery when they observed a swirling disc of material around the black hole, which is found at a distance of approximately 130 million light-years away from earth.
Hubble Space Telescope Spotted An Unusual Object Near A Black Hole
The black hole is located at a center of an unusual galaxy which is known under the name NGC 3147. The galaxy is a part of the class of low-luminosity galaxies. What makes it remarkable is the fact that these type of galaxies aren’t usually able to form and sustain a disk of material which is consumed by the black holes found at their center.
The disc which was observed by the researchers is quite similar to the ones observed in the case of bigger galaxies, according to the study. One of the researchers who contributed to the paper stated that a disc of this type tends to be encountered among galaxies which are up to 100,000 more luminous the one which was surveyed by the team. This means that the current prediction models for faint active galaxies were mistaken and they will have to be revised in the long run.
This Black Hole’s Disc Spits Material At High Velocity
During the study, the team analyzed the data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope from the massive black hole, which has a mass that is up to 250 million times bigger that of our sun and concluded that the disc of material spun at an impressive speed which was equal to approximately 10% of the speed of light.
The new data allowed them also to explore the two theories of relativity elaborated by Albert Einstein, which played an important role in attempts to understand the universe. The research also infers that the black hole is embedded within the depths of the gravitational field generated by the black hole. Further research may be underway as the team will try to locate other discs of the same nature in the future.
Andre Blair s is the lead editor for . He holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science in Public Health (M.S.P.H.) from the School of Public Health, Department of Health Administration, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Andre specializes in environmental health, but writes on a variety of issues.