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Hubble spies homeless black hole
Reuters ^ | September 14, 2005 | Reuters

Posted on 09/14/2005 5:56:20 PM PDT by AntiGuv

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A supermassive black hole appears to be homeless in the cosmos without a galaxy to nestle in, Hubble Space Telescope scientists reported on Wednesday.

Most monster black holes lurk at the heart of massive galaxies, slurping up matter from the galactic center with a pull so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape.

But a team of European astronomers reported in the journal Nature that a particular black hole some 5 billion light-years away has no evidence of a host galaxy. A light-year is about 6 trillion miles, the distance light travels in a year.

The black hole was detected when the scientists went hunting for quasars -- extremely bright, small, distant objects that are strongly associated with black holes. Astronomers believe a quasar is produced by cosmic gas as it is drawn toward the edge of a supermassive black hole.

Most quasars and black holes are in the middle of supermassive galaxies and in their survey of 20 relatively nearby quasars, the scientists found 19 followed this expected pattern. But one showed no signs of having a galactic home.

The astronomers, using the Hubble telescope and the Very Large Telescope in Chile, reported that this rogue black hole may be the result of a rare collision between a seemingly normal spiral galaxy and an exotic object harboring a very massive black hole.

One problem in quasar-hunting is that they are so bright, they outshine most galaxies that surround them, just as the headlights from an oncoming vehicle can make the vehicle hard to see. So even if a surrounding galaxy is present, it can be difficult to detect.

The European astronomers used the two telescopes to overcome this problem by comparing the quasars they were watching with a reference star. This let them differentiate the light from the quasar from the light from any possible underlying galaxy.

Further information is available online at http://www.spacetelescope.org.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: astronomy; darkenergy; darkforce; darkmatter; hst; hubble; physics; science; singularity; speedofdark; stringtheory; vagabond
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To: AntiGuv

Somewhere a galaxy has a picture of the black hole on its milk cartons...


21 posted on 09/14/2005 6:13:33 PM PDT by WestVirginiaRebel (The Democratic Party-Jackass symbol, jackass leaders, jackass supporters.)
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To: America's Resolve

Space isn't technically a void. A black hole of that size would still be sucking up the couple atoms per cubic kilometer in space and continue to spit out small amounts of x-rays.


22 posted on 09/14/2005 6:14:13 PM PDT by Crazieman (6-23-2005, Establishment of the United Socialist States of America)
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To: AntiGuv

Okay, okay. "We'll" pay to rebuild that too. I'm sure my grandchildren will have grandchildren that will also have grandchildren that will assent to underwrite that. Unless they shrug.


23 posted on 09/14/2005 6:14:55 PM PDT by kcar (theUNsucks.com)
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To: AntiGuv

Speaking of which, why are we still looking for radio signals? A civilization as advanced as ours might be using lasers or something else at a much higher range.


24 posted on 09/14/2005 6:18:08 PM PDT by WestVirginiaRebel (The Democratic Party-Jackass symbol, jackass leaders, jackass supporters.)
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To: BenLurkin
We see all sorts of "jets", sometimes only one lobe (and just assume there is another symmetric one we can't see), we see star sized objects accelerated away from remnants, we see bursts we have to invent new physics to explain away, any or all of which might be evidence of LGM with serious technology firecrackering away. No tinfoil necessary. It is at least as likely an hypothesis as the cockamamie patched epicycles holding present gravitational theory together, for example (DM, DE, WIMPs, etc).
25 posted on 09/14/2005 6:18:19 PM PDT by JasonC
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To: Battle Hymn of the Republic
"Or, you could be a probe that collided with God."-Bender
26 posted on 09/14/2005 6:19:14 PM PDT by WestVirginiaRebel (The Democratic Party-Jackass symbol, jackass leaders, jackass supporters.)
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To: AntiGuv

Okay what does it say about me that I find this thread very funny and entertaining...


27 posted on 09/14/2005 6:20:24 PM PDT by Syntyr
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To: AntiGuv

Could the black hole have swallowed its entire galaxy, or do scientists expect that even in that instance, there would be a residual debris left?

Or could the black hole have come from a massive star which escaped from a galaxy?


28 posted on 09/14/2005 6:21:02 PM PDT by dangus
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To: America's Resolve
At this distance, you can also look for them via "lensing", which spots the effect of gravity on light that grazes the vicinity of the object on its way from something more distant, to us. Light bends around heavy things. You can pick up "bank shot" patterns and tell there is something massive in the line of sight, even if that something isn't shining itself. Think of it as seeing a silhouette..
29 posted on 09/14/2005 6:21:58 PM PDT by JasonC
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To: America's Resolve

Gravitational distortion of light coming from a galaxy behind it.



Us <


Black hole <
Galaxy


30 posted on 09/14/2005 6:22:18 PM PDT by dangus
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To: WestVirginiaRebel
Yep. The SETI continues, and radio signals are of course the most plausible way for us to find an ET civilization at this time. Personally, I suspect hyperadvanced civilizations may be using quantum entanglement or something equally undetectable, but that's a controversial idea.
31 posted on 09/14/2005 6:23:26 PM PDT by AntiGuv (™)
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To: Syntyr
Okay what does it say about me that I find this thread very funny and entertaining...

You're one SICK bastid!!!! :)

32 posted on 09/14/2005 6:23:34 PM PDT by America's Resolve (I've just become a 'single issue voter' for 06 and 08. My issue is illegal immigration!)
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To: AntiGuv

I'd be more impressed if they found one WITH a bottom.


33 posted on 09/14/2005 6:24:26 PM PDT by Constantine XIII
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To: dangus

Some AGNs have massive jets of outflowing material. It is possible such a jet could accelerate the object relative to the rest of the galaxy and that is might escape. Usual models expect such things to be so symmetric they don't produce sufficient net force in any given direction to do this. But those assumed symmetries are mostly for modeling convenience, and because we don't know enough about them to know what might skew them. The energy outflow from something like the giant relativistic jet in M87 is certainly powerful enough to shoot even something massive out like a cannonball.


34 posted on 09/14/2005 6:25:56 PM PDT by JasonC
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To: AntiGuv

Symetrically disposed between the twin Splincter Galaxies, the massive void has been nicknamed by the astronomers as Moore's Hole.
<P< Abandon hope all ye who enter here...


35 posted on 09/14/2005 6:26:26 PM PDT by kcar (theUNsucks.com)
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To: Syntyr

Do you realize how many trillions of critters have probably met their doom by this black hole?? ;^)


36 posted on 09/14/2005 6:26:52 PM PDT by AntiGuv (™)
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To: AntiGuv

I'm just thinking that moving an object at high speeds through interstellar space might take a lot of energy that might leave some kind of signature.


37 posted on 09/14/2005 6:28:57 PM PDT by BenLurkin (O beautiful for patriot dream - that sees beyond the years)
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To: BenLurkin

It would, but we wouldn't be able to specify its origin.


38 posted on 09/14/2005 6:29:59 PM PDT by AntiGuv (™)
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To: AntiGuv

BTW, where is Web Hubble these days, and what is he up to?


39 posted on 09/14/2005 6:33:24 PM PDT by ken5050 (Ann Coulter needs to have children ASAP to pass on her gene pool....any volunteers?)
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To: TADSLOS


"...a particular black hole some 5 billion light-years away has no evidence of a host galaxy."

Wait a minute...Don't we have to wait 5 billion years to find out if it is still homeless on this day?


40 posted on 09/14/2005 6:43:04 PM PDT by Revel
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