glenc
24-04-2008, 11:23 AM
Using powerful radio telescopes, scientists have captured a supermassive black hole just as it was belching out a jet of supercharged particles, offering a first look at how these cosmic jets are formed.
Supermassive black holes form the core of many galaxies and astronomers have long believed they were responsible for ejecting jets of particles at nearly the speed of light.
But just how they did it had remained a mystery.
An international team of researchers led by Professor Alan Marscher of Boston University just got its first peek.
Professor Marscher's team aimed the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Long Baseline Array, a system of 10 radio telescopes, at the galaxy BL Lacertae...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/24/2226085.htm
Supermassive black holes form the core of many galaxies and astronomers have long believed they were responsible for ejecting jets of particles at nearly the speed of light.
But just how they did it had remained a mystery.
An international team of researchers led by Professor Alan Marscher of Boston University just got its first peek.
Professor Marscher's team aimed the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Long Baseline Array, a system of 10 radio telescopes, at the galaxy BL Lacertae...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/24/2226085.htm