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Largest Eruption In the Known Universe Is ~100 Times the Size of Milky Way

StartsWithABang writes: At the center of almost every galaxy is a supermassive black hole (SMBH); at the center of almost every cluster is a supermassive galaxy with some of the largest SMBHs in the Universe. And every once in a while, a galactocentric black hole will become active, emitting tremendous amounts of radiation out into the Universe as it devours matter. This radiation can cut across the spectrum, from the X-ray down to the radio. At the heart of MS 0735.6+7421, there's a >10^10 solar mass black hole that appears to have been active for hundreds of millions of years, something unheard of!

4 of 73 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Puzzled by dimeglio · · Score: 4, Informative

    IANAP but I think it doesn't escape once in the black hole. However, on the way there, matter gets mangled and ripped apart which happens before it actually crosses the event horizon. This is where these emissions take place.

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    Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the author.
  2. Re:Puzzled by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    I never understood this. It is said that the black holes are black because not even light can escape them. And yet, they emit light? How does the light they emit escape?

    No light escapes from the black hole. The radiation that we're detecting comes from matter in the accretion disk. A disk of gas and dust around the black hole way farther than the event horizon. This matter is heated and accelerated by the gravitational forces of the black hole. That's why they radiate. If this matter were inside the black hole's even horizon then yes we wouldn't be able to detect it cause once inside the event horizon there is no escape. It's all way down to the singularity with no hope of escaping.

  3. Re:Puzzled by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yes, they do cause it, because they cause a fucking great accretion disk to form around them, and they provide some fucking massive magnetic fields to help fuel the accretion disk too. What's so fucking hard to understand about this? Oh, yes, that's right - nothing. You're either a troll, a moron or, most likely, both.

    Fuck you, and fuck this website.

  4. Re:Puzzled by arth1 · · Score: 2, Informative

    it does seem to work like this, with bodies of larger mass being attracted to it with greater force!

    Jokes aside, you're perpetuating a false belief.
    It should be well known by now that gravity does not accelerate heavier objects any faster than lighter objects. The mass of the bodies is irrelevant if non-zero.
    Ref Gallileo's alleged demonstration at the tower of Pisa.