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These images are from a computer animation illustrating a spinning black hole. The wide-angle view in the left image shows the black hole and a nearby blue giant star in a binary (double) system. Celestial objects in binary systems orbit closely around their common center of mass. In this image, the black hole is located to the left of a blue giant star. The powerful gravity of the black hole pulls gas from the blue giant, which forms a tail-like structure as it streams toward the black hole.
The middle image offers a closer glimpse, and the gas can be seen forming a disk-shaped structure as it whirls around the black hole, like soap suds spiraling down a bathtub drain. Lines from the poles of the black hole represent jets of gas being ejected from the vicinity of the black hole at nearly the speed of light (about 186,000 miles per second). Although nothing can escape a black hole once it passes its point of no return, called the event horizon, black holes are "sloppy eaters," often expelling matter that approaches but does not cross the event horizon. The poorly understood jets are frequently seen near black holes that are swallowing copious quantities of gas.
The close-up view on the right 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 at different speeds, with the material closest to the black hole approaching the speed of light. Because it moves at different speeds, atoms that comprise the gas rub against each other and become intensely hot, causing them to emit high-energy radiation, like X-rays. These X-rays reveal an otherwise invisible black hole.
The gap between the gas disk and the event horizon represents the innermost stable orbit matter can have before plunging into the black hole. A spinning black hole modifies the fabric of space-time near it. The spinning allows matter to orbit at a closer distance than if the black hole were not spinning, and the closer matter can get the faster it can orbit.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A 6 MEG QUICKTIME MOVIE OF THIS ANIMATION
IMAGE CREDIT: NASA/HONEYWELL MAX-Q DIGITAL GROUP/DANA BERRY
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These two images are an artist's concept illustrating the difference between a spinning black hole and one that is not spinning. In both images, the central black circle (surrounded by a blue glow), represents the black hole's point of no return, called the event horizon. The surrounding blue and white rings represent hot gas whirling around the black hole on its way to oblivion, much like soap suds swirl around a bathtub drain. The green grid depicts space-time coordinates. Note how the spinning black hole (right image) distorts the space time grid. A spinning black hole modifies the fabric of space-time near it, allowing matter to orbit at a closer distance than if the black hole were not spinning.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A 6 MEG QUICKTIME MOVIE OF THIS ANIMATION
IMAGE CREDIT: NASA/HONEYWELL MAX-Q DIGITAL GROUP/DANA BERRY
