[guide.chat] milky way black holes
- From: "harold kitching" <harold.kitching01@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "guide chat" <guide.chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2012 14:18:16 +0100
Milky Way Black Holes Found By Astronomers. Scientists say the discovery of two
black holes inside a cluster of stars in the Milky Way galaxy is a "complete
surprise"..
3:23pm UK, Thursday 04 October 2012
Black holes inside M22 star cluster
Black holes were found in M22. Pic: Doug Matthews, Adam Block, Jay Strader
Astronomers have found two black holes, each up to 20 times heavier than the
Sun, hidden deep inside our own galaxy.
The unexpected discovery was made by a team exploring a 12 billion-year-old
cluster of stars in the Milky Way called M22.
It contains hundreds of thousands of stars and can be seen with the naked eye
as a hazy patch of light.
Scientists at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research now believe
there could be as many as 100 black holes inside the cluster.
Dr James Miller-Jones, who co-wrote a report that appears in the journal
Nature, said: "Simulations of how globular clusters evolve show that many black
holes are created early in a cluster's history.
"The many black holes then sink towards the middle of the cluster where they
begin a chaotic dance. Most are thrown out until only one surviving black hole
remains.
"We were searching for one large black hole in the middle of the cluster, but
instead found two smaller black holes a little way out from the centre, which
means all the theory and simulations need refinement."
Black holes are formed when a massive star reaches the end of its life and
collapses in on itself.
They are so dense that even light cannot escape them.
The M22 cluster, which can be found in the constellation Sagittarius, was
discovered almost 350 years ago.
It is 10,000 light years away, so astronomers on Earth only see it as it was
10,000 years ago.
The research involved scientists from the University of Southampton, as well as
universities in the United States and Australia.
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