Saturday, June 1, 2013

Clouds could reveal black hole details

Summary: A cloud of gas (called G2) that was discovered in 2011 is due to pass by the center of our galaxy where is it speculated that a cluster of black holes resides. Scientists have never been able to definitively prove that these black holes exist but are hopeful that when the cloud passes in September it could give us the proof. "The idea is that as the cloud speeds past these small black holes - some slightly more massive than our Sun but just a few tens of km across - gas will spiral around them faster and faster, heating up to millions of degrees and emitting X-ray light." Telescopes could then see these emitted rays and know for sure that the black holes exist. This indirect method of detection has been compared to watching the swirls in the water as a giant bathtub drains though thousands of little drains.



BBC News

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