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David Aguilar
(617) 495-7462 Christine Pulliam (617) 495-7463 pubaffairs@cfa |
Release No.: 2008-16For Release: Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Closest Look Ever at the Edge of a Black Hole ![]() This image is from a computer animation illustrating a spinning black hole.
The close-up view here represents the immediate vicinity of the black hole,
with the event horizon depicted as a black sphere. The surrounding disk of
gas, represented by white and blue rings, whirls around the black hole. The
white column over the pole of the black hole represents a jet of gas being
ejected from the vicinity of the black hole at nearly the speed of light.
Credit: NASA High Resolution Image (jpg) Low Resolution Image (jpg) ![]() This computer simulation shows what a "hot spot" of gas orbiting a black
hole would look like in an extremely high-resolution image. The black hole's
strong gravity distorts the appearance of nearby glowing gas, casting a
silhouette. The green lines are a coordinate grid, also distorted by the
black hole's gravity. Here, the black hole is viewed from an angle of 30
degrees above the disk plane.
Credit: Avery Broderick (CITA) & Avi Loeb (CfA) High Resolution Image (jpg) Low Resolution Image (jpg) |
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