Missing link found between supernovae and black holes (artist's impression)
Artist's impression shows a black hole and its yellow companion star being sent out on a long journey through the Milky Way galaxy by the explosive kick of a supernova - one of the Universe's most titanic events. Observations made by the ESA/NASA Hubble Space Telescope have allowed astronomers to measure the motion of this black-hole system across the sky using images taken in 1996 and 2001. The results are surprising: the black hole streaks across the plane of our Milky Way at a velocity 4 times that of stars around it! This is the first direct link between black holes and the supernovae that create them.
This artist's impression shows a black hole and its yellow companion star being sent out on a out on a long journey through the Milky Way galaxy by the explosive kick of a supernova - one of the Universe's most titanic events. New observations made by the ESA/NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have allowed astronomers to measure the motion of this black hole system across the sky using images taken in 1995 and 2001. The results are surprising: the black hole streaks across the plane of our Milky Way at a velocity 4 times that of stars around it! This is the first direct link between black holes and the supernovae that create them.
European Space Agency, NASA and Felix Mirabel (the French Atomic Energy Commission & the Institute for Astronomy and Space Physics/Conicet of Argentina)
About the Image
| Id: | heic0211a |
|---|---|
| Type: | Artwork |
| Release date: | 18 November 2002, 15:00 |
| Related releases: | heic0211 |
| Size: | 3000 x 2400 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Black Hole |
|---|---|
| Type: | Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Black Hole Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Binary |
| Category: | Stars |
