Astronomers Discover Black Hole 'Waking Up'
Astronomers Discover Black Hole 'Waking Up'
The Facts
Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) say they've observed the gradual illumination of a black hole 1M times larger than the sun located 300M lightyears away.
Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) say they've observed the gradual illumination of a black hole that's 1M times larger than the sun and is located 300M lightyears away.
The Spin
Thanks to high-tech telescopes, scientists have been able to discover black holes, monitor their jets of electrons, and now observe their illumination of galaxies. As black holes have now been discovered in almost every galaxy, scientists will next be able to connect these mysterious phenomena to the creation of galaxies themselves. Not even light can escape these iconic cosmic enigmas.
When black hole discoveries are made, there are fears that one day, this cosmic phenomenon could cause the demise of planet Earth itself. There has indeed been a recent increase in observations of black holes "spotlighting" galaxies through their emission of radiation. However, scientific evidence suggests that black holes are not the outer space vacuum cleaners some claim they are — indeed, light may not be able to escape, but Earth is "unbelievably" safe.
