/data/photo/2022/07/20/62d7bbf75ecbe.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1 "“A Giant Black Hole Facing Earth: British Astronomers Make a Startling Discovery”")
KOMPAS.com – A giant black hole or black hole facing Earth has been discovered by British astronomers on Tuesday (28/3/2023).
Scientists from the University of Durham, UK explain, this giant black hole is one of the largest ever found. Its location is in the galaxy PBC J2333.9-2343.
Researchers at the Royal Astronomical Society revealed that the galaxy spans nearly 4 million light years or nearly 40 times the size of Earth.
“We started studying this galaxy because it exhibited strange properties. Our hypothesis is that the relativistic jets from the supermassive black hole have changed their course. To confirm the idea, we had to make a lot of observations,” Lorena Hernández García said NY Post.
The galaxy was originally classified as a radio galaxy, but scientists realized that the extraterrestrial phenomenon had rotated 90 degrees and was now heading towards the center of Earth.
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The cause of the change of direction is not known
Scientists are not currently sure what triggered the change in direction, although some believe that PBC J2333.9-2343 collided with another galaxy, causing the shift.
It is not yet clear how the direction of the black hole will affect Earth. Even so, these black holes are not the only threat facing Earth.
According to new data, three Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) were discovered in the inner solar system and could pose a serious risk to Earth.
“Our twilight survey scours areas within the orbits of Earth and Venus for asteroids,” said lead author and astronomer Scott Sheppard in a NOIR Lab press release.
“So far, we have found two large near-Earth asteroids that are about 1 kilometer in diameter, a size we call a planet killer,” he added.
Also read: What is a Black Hole and Can Black Holes Eat Earth?
It has 33 billion times the mass of the sun
SHUTTERSTOCK/Lukasz Pawel Szczepanski
Illustration of the sun. What happens when the sun dies and its impact on Earth.
In the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the team of scientists describe the discovery of this giant black hole as “very exciting”. This black hole has about 33 billion times the mass of the sun.
“This particular black hole, which is roughly 30 billion times the mass of our sun, is one of the largest ever detected and is at the upper limit. How much we believe this theoretical black hole could be is a very exciting discovery,” said Dr James Nightingale, lead author of the journal from the Department of Physics at Durham University was quoted as saying by Sky News.
Ultramassive black holes are the most massive objects in the universe with masses between 10 billion and 40 billion times that of the sun.
Astronomers believe they can be found at the center of all large galaxies like the Milky Way, including our solar system.
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He said ultramassive black holes are rare and elusive. In addition, its origins are also unclear. Some believe they formed from extreme mergers of massive galaxies billions of years ago when the universe was young.
The researchers used a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, in which they took the help of a nearby galaxy by turning it into a giant magnifying glass.
This revealed the existence of ultramassive black holes, regions where the gravitational pull is so strong that not even light can escape.
Scientists used supercomputer simulations at Durham University and images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope to confirm the size of the supermassive black hole.
They say this is the first black hole discovered using gravitational lensing.
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