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It has been awhile since I posted

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#SPACE

Black Holes: Seeing the Invisible!

Black holes are some of the most bizarre and fascinating objects in the cosmos. Astronomers want to study lots of them, but there’s one big problem – black holes are invisible! Since they don’t emit any light, it’s pretty tough to find them lurking in the inky void of space. Fortunately there are a few different ways we can “see” black holes indirectly by watching how they affect their surroundings.

Speedy stars

If you’ve spent some time stargazing, you know what a calm, peaceful place our universe can be. But did you know that a monster is hiding right in the heart of our Milky Way galaxy? Astronomers noticed stars zipping superfast around something we can’t see at the center of the galaxy, about 10 million miles per hour! The stars must be circling a supermassive black hole. No other object would have strong enough gravity to keep them from flying off into space.

Two astrophysicists won half of the Nobel Prize in Physics last year for revealing this dark secret. The black hole is truly monstrous, weighing about four million times as much as our Sun! And it seems our home galaxy is no exception – our Hubble Space Telescope has revealed that the hubs of most galaxies contain supermassive black holes.

Shadowy silhouettes

Technology has advanced enough that we’ve been able to spot one of these supermassive black holes in a nearby galaxy. In 2019, astronomers took the first-ever picture of a black hole in a galaxy called M87, which is about 55 million light-years away. They used an international network of radio telescopes called the Event Horizon Telescope.

In the image, we can see some light from hot gas surrounding a dark shape. While we still can’t see the black hole itself, we can see the “shadow” it casts on the bright backdrop.

Shattered stars

Black holes can come in a smaller variety, too. When a massive star runs out of the fuel it uses to shine, it collapses in on itself. These lightweight or “stellar-mass” black holes are only about 5-20 times as massive as the Sun. They’re scattered throughout the galaxy in the same places where we find stars, since that’s how they began their lives. Some of them started out with a companion star, and so far that’s been our best clue to find them.

Some black holes steal material from their companion star. As the material falls onto the black hole, it gets superhot and lights up in X-rays. The first confirmed black hole astronomers discovered, called Cygnus X-1, was found this way.

If a star comes too close to a supermassive black hole, the effect is even more dramatic! Instead of just siphoning material from the star like a smaller black hole would do, a supermassive black hole will completely tear the star apart into a stream of gas. This is called a tidal disruption event.

Making waves

But what if two companion stars both turn into black holes? They may eventually collide with each other to form a larger black hole, sending ripples through space-time – the fabric of the cosmos!

These ripples, called gravitational waves, travel across space at the speed of light. The waves that reach us are extremely weak because space-time is really stiff.

Three scientists received the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for using LIGO to observe gravitational waves that were sent out from colliding stellar-mass black holes. Though gravitational waves are hard to detect, they offer a way to find black holes without having to see any light.

We’re teaming up with the European Space Agency for a mission called LISA, which stands for Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. When it launches in the 2030s, it will detect gravitational waves from merging supermassive black holes – a likely sign of colliding galaxies!

Rogue black holes

So we have a few ways to find black holes by seeing stuff that’s close to them. But astronomers think there could be 100 million black holes roaming the galaxy solo. Fortunately, our Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will provide a way to “see” these isolated black holes, too.

Roman will find solitary black holes when they pass in front of more distant stars from our vantage point. The black hole’s gravity will warp the starlight in ways that reveal its presence. In some cases we can figure out a black hole’s mass and distance this way, and even estimate how fast it’s moving through the galaxy.

For more about black holes, check out these Tumblr posts!

⚫ Gobble Up These Black (Hole) Friday Deals!

⚫ Hubble’s 5 Weirdest Black Hole Discoveries

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

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#inspired

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Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, and New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae. The buttonquail are named more for their superficial resemblance to quail, and are members of the Turnicidae family in the Charadriiformes order. The king quail, one of the Old World quail, is often sold in the pet trade; and within this trade is commonly, though mistakenly, referred to as a "button quail". Many of the common larger species are farm-raised for table food or egg consumption, and are hunted on game farms or in the wild, where they may be released to supplement the wild population, or extend into areas outside their natural range. In 2007, the US produced 40 million quail. Happy Holidays 

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Terms of use for Starlighter Magazine

Terms of use for Starlighter Magazine

This blog is governed by the general rules of respectful civil discourse. You are fully responsible for everything that you post.

The terms are simple. We do not collect any information from you or share it with anyone.

The content of all comments is released into the public domain unless clearly stated otherwise or it is marked by spam through this website.

Your submission may be…

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HELP ELON THE ENGINEER

HELP ELON THE ENGINEER

Engineering Lessons for K-12 Students Helping give students real-world context, these engineering challenges emphasize the importance of engineering design in addressing problems in local communities and around the world:

Protect Coastal Communities from Storm Surge Waves: design a seawall to protect paper houses in a model of coastal flooding

Aluminum Foil Boat Design: Surviving the Stormy…

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Each year, hundreds of ATV riders — young and old — die or experience life altering injuries from incidents involving ATVs. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that all ATV riders follow the safety guidelines below every time they ride.

TESLA WANTS YOU TO BE A SAFE DRIVER

An estimated 903 people died in 2006* in incidents associated with ATVs. In addition, in…

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SCARY-THE HUMAN BODY

Per Jorgensen·

B. Sc. in Journalism, University of Kansas

What would happen to the human body if it were suddenly placed in the deepest part of the ocean?

Contrary to wild speculation that you’d be flattened or crushed up like a can and your bones reduced to gravel, surprisingly little — you’d still be recognizable, until the scavengers get to work. You could last long enough before you pass…

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TEA FIT FOR A QUEEN

TEA FIT FOR A QUEEN

As you know, we always look for beauty, rarity and if possible, great provenance. This particular tea service we just acquired scores a perfect “10” in all of these categories. In regards to provenance, the most desirable has always been royalty. This extraordinary tea set has not one but two royal provenances attached to it.

Phillip Youngberg 630 Royal St New Orleans, LA 70130 (800) 544-9440 (504…

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Tesla Vehicles. 2 brains R better than 1

Tesla Vehicles. 2 brains R better than 1

Q. Safe Enough?

A. W/E THINK IT IS.

“THE TESLA COMMUNITY” Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are designed to become more capable over time, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous~TESLA.COM

Tesla.com Full Self-Driving…

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#TeslaTequila #Gatsby Style at 40% ABV/750mL

#TeslaTequila #Gatsby Style at 40% ABV/750mL

https://teslatequila.tesla.com/#tesla-tequila

Introducing Tesla Tequila, an exclusive, small-batch premium 100% de agave tequila añejo made from sustainably sourced highland and lowland agaves. Aged for 15 months in French oak barrels and into a hand-blown glass bottle, Tesla Tequila features a dry fruit and light vanilla nose with a balanced cinnamon pepper finish. Best enjoyed as a sipping…

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#AI AND FRUIT (artificial insemination)

#AI AND FRUIT (artificial insemination)

https://www.usda.gov/topics/rural/cooperative-research-and-extension-services

Plant a lemon tree. A good tree to plant is a dwaf Meyer Lemon tree. (Citrus X Meyeri) grows between 6 and 10 feet tall and features fruit that is sweeter and less acidic than a true lemon. To grow this tree indoors, start with 1-to-2 year old plant. Choose a container with good drainage and plenty of space; fill…

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The Writer's Market

The Writer’s Market

The Beginner’s Guide To Freelance Writing Written by Jenna Glatzer Edited by RML Table of contents1. The Big Idea: How to become an expert 2. Researching your market 3. The Killer Query 4. Interviews and Profiles 5. The Sales 6. To Spec or Not to Spec 7. The Right To Write 8. Recycling a Big Idea! 9. Professional “Extras” “The Big Idea” Okay. So you’ve figured out that you would like to write for magazines,…

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Color your world black: #000; --tds-color--grey10: #171a20; --tds-color--grey15: #222; --tds-color--grey20: #393c41; --tds-color--grey25: #444; --tds-color--grey30: #5c5e62; --tds-color--grey35: #757575; --tds-color--grey40: #a2a3a5;

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#ZOOM HURRY

Founders Series Reservation (1,000 Reservations Available)

https://www.tesla.com/ns_videos/roadster_videos/roadster-nl_NL-mobile.mp4

Acceleration 0-100 km/h2.1sec

Acceleration 1/4 mile8.8sec

Top speedOver 400 km/h

Couple10,000 Nm

Range1000 kilometres

Seats4

DriveAll-Wheel Drive

Basic reservation€43,000

Founders Series Reservation (1,000 Reservations Available)

TESLA.COM/ROADSTER order here

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Holiday Hero Discounts

Do you offer military discounts for veterans and their families? No matter what country you are in. The world should never go to war again. Let us honor the humans who have. Celebrate life.

ARMY, NAVY, AIRFORCE, MARINES, RESERVES, FIGHTER FIGHTERS, POLICE, COAST GUARD, OR PUBLIC SERVICE OFFICERS?

SUBMIT TO TVMEDIARELATIONS YOUR DISCOUNT AND IT WILL BE PUBLISHED HERE.

YOUR AD WILL BE…