Friday, May 6, 2011

IT'S DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, TO VISUALIZE THIS.

This is an item I am re-posting from its source. A flare-up in a jet of matter blasting from a monster black hole is giving astronomers an incredible light show.

The outburst is coming from a blob of matter, called HST-1. It's embedded in the jet which is a powerful narrow beam of hot gas produced by a supermassive black hole residing in the core of the giant elliptical galaxy M87.


HST-1 is so bright that it is outshining even M87's brilliant core, whose monster black hole is one of the most massive yet discovered.


The glowing gas clump has taken astronomers on a rollercoaster ride of suspense. Astronomers watched HST-1 brighten steadily for several years, then fade, and then brighten again. They say it's hard to predict what will happen next.


Hubble Witnesses Flare-Up in Extragalactic Jet

Source: Hubblesite.org

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