MSU-led research finds another black hole in a star cluster

This an image of globular cluster M62 captured by a radio telescope. The star-like object within the orange circle is believed to be a black hole discovered by a team of researchers led by an MSU astronomer. Photo courtesy of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.<br>

Researchers are now thinking it was the former, as evidence of yet another black hole has been found in a globular cluster by an MSU-led team of researchers.

As published in the recent issue of Astrophysical Journal, a new black hole candidate has been found in a globular cluster known as M62.

“This implies that the discovery of the other black hole, in the globular cluster called M22, was not just a fluke,” said Laura Chomiuk, team member and MSU assistant professor of physics and astronomy. “Black holes really may be common in globular clusters.”

Black holes are stars that have died, collapsed into themselves and now have such a strong gravitational field that not even light can escape from them.

The globular cluster M62 is located in the constellation Ophiuchus, about 22,000 light years from Earth.

Until recently, astronomers had assumed that the black holes did not occur in globular clusters, which are some of the oldest and densest collections of stars in the universe. Stars are packed together a million times more closely than in the neighborhood of our sun.

There are so many stars in such a condensed area that they often interact with one another. Massive black holes would have the most violent encounters, “sling-shotting” each other out of the cluster.

Last year’s discovery of a pair of black holes in a cluster was especially surprising, Chomiuk said. It had been thought that if two black holes dwelled at the center, they would regularly encounter one another until one shoved the other out.

“I think it’s safe to say that we have discovered a whole new hunting ground for black holes,” said Chomiuk.

This latest discovery was made by using the National Science Foundation’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array telescope in New Mexico.

To view the paper, visit http://iopscience.iop.org/0004-637X/777/1/69/article.

Media Contact

Tom Oswald EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.msu.edu

All latest news from the category: Physics and Astronomy

This area deals with the fundamental laws and building blocks of nature and how they interact, the properties and the behavior of matter, and research into space and time and their structures.

innovations-report provides in-depth reports and articles on subjects such as astrophysics, laser technologies, nuclear, quantum, particle and solid-state physics, nanotechnologies, planetary research and findings (Mars, Venus) and developments related to the Hubble Telescope.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

EEG ad tDCS chould serve as the basis of therapeutic strategies to combat newrological disorders. Image Credit: Institute of Science Tokyo

Using Electroencephalography to Improve Language Disorder Treatments

Researchers work towards an inexpensive and portable solution for treating aphasia  Electroencephalography (EEG) may offer a more accessible alternative to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for guiding transcranial direct current…

The BioSCape team is poctured with NASA and South African aircraft. Image Credit: Jeremey Shelton/Fishwater Films

Measuring Life on Earth from Space: A Global Research Project

Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth. An ambitious, multinational research project funded by NASA and co-led by UC Merced civil and…

NEJM study finds patients with blockages in medium-sized vessels in the brain who had endovascular treatment did not do any better and did not see any improvement compared to patients who had the standard of care. Dr. Michael Hill, MD, Dr. Mayank Goyal, MD, PhD (right). Image Credit: Riley Brandt, University of Calgary

Best Approach for Stroke in Medium-Sized Blood Vessels Identified

Calgary’s Stroke Program advancing science to improve care, treatment and outcomes for patients  University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute researchers with the Calgary Stroke Program at Foothills Medical Centre revolutionized…