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Illustration of an Isolated Black Hole
This is an illustration of a close-up look at a black hole drifting through our Milky Way galaxy. The black hole is the crushed remnant of a massive star that exploded as a supernova. The surviving core is several times the mass of our Sun. The black hole traps light due to its intense gravitational field. The black hole distorts the space around it, which warps images of background stars lined up almost directly behind it. This gravitational "lensing" effect offers the only telltale evidence for the existence of lone black holes wandering our galaxy, which may be a population of 100 million. The Hubble Space Telescope goes hunting for these black holes by looking for distortion in starlight as the black holes drift in front of background stars.
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.18:06:49.4
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.-28:02:28.62
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Sagittarius
- DistanceDistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.26,000 light-years
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator. - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.Teide Observatory
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.Milky Way
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Black hole simulation
- Release DateJune 10, 2022
- Science ReleaseHubble Determines Mass of Isolated Black Hole Roaming Our Milky Way Galaxy
- CreditsFECYT, IAC
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
