|
Credit & Copyright: NASA,
Goddard Space Flight Center,
Jeremy Schnittman and Brian P. Powell -
Text: Francis Reddy
Explanation:
Light
rays from accretion disks
around a pair of orbiting supermassive black holes
make their way through the warped space-time produced by
extreme gravity in this stunning computer visualization.
The simulated accretion disks have been given
different false color schemes,
red for the disk surrounding a 200-million-solar-mass black hole,
and blue for the disk surrounding a 100-million-solar-mass black hole.
That makes it easier to track the light sources, but the choice
also reflects reality.
Hotter gas gives off light closer to the blue end of the spectrum and
material orbiting smaller black holes experiences stronger gravitational
effects that produce higher temperatures.
For these masses, both accretion disks
would actually emit most of their light
in the ultraviolet though.
In the video, distorted secondary images of the blue black hole,
which show the red black hole's view of its partner,
can be found within the tangled skein of the red disk
warped by the gravity of the blue black hole in the foreground.
Because we're seeing red's view of blue while also seeing blue directly,
the images allow us to see both sides of blue at the same time.
Red and blue light originating from both
black holes can be seen in the innermost ring of light, called the photon ring,
near their event horizons.
Astronomers expect that in the not-too-distant future theyÁll be able to
detect gravitational waves,
ripples in space-time, produced when
two supermassive black holes in a system much like the one
simulated here
spiral together and merge.
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: black hole - accretion disk
Publications with words: black hole - accretion disk
See also:
- APOD: 2024 November 24 Á Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
- APOD: 2024 October 1 Á Porphyrion: The Longest Known Black Hole Jets
- APOD: 2024 June 16 Á Animation: Black Hole Destroys Star
- Simulation: Two Black Holes Merge
- The Galaxy, the Jet, and a Famous Black Hole
- APOD: 2024 May 8 Á Visualization: A Black Hole Accretion Disk
- APOD: 2024 May 7 Á Black Hole Accreting with Jet