Giant Black Hole Found In Milky Way

[Guest Shetland Coastie]

BBC Link

BBC Science

Fascinating stuff.

[andy_leics22]

I have had many Milky Ways over the years but never found a black hole in one. This is a rare occurance

[A.J]

Its an odd story for the beeb to run, as scientists have known for years that there is a super-massive black hole in the region of 'Saggitarius A' at the center of our galaxy, indeed all known types of galaxies have SM black holes at their core, again according to scientists

[James M]

Its an odd story for the beeb to run, as scientists have known for years that there is a super-massive black hole in the region of 'Saggitarius A' at the center of our galaxy, indeed all known types of galaxies have SM black holes at their core, again according to scientists

They do say confirmed though, maybe it's only now they've been able to say with certainty.

[PersianPaladin]

I have a pet theory that the universe oozed out of a black hole from another relational dimension and expanded outwards in an elipse gradually cooling. While in our dimension; black holes have an opposing density\gravitational relationship and pull matter inward; sometimes ejecting out hot gas at the periphery in strong jets.

I should read up more on my quantum theory; but it gives me a bloody big headache.

[A.J]

They do say confirmed though, maybe it's only now they've been able to say with certainty.

The same group of scientists that reported todays story, reported this ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3501313.stm ) nearly 5 years ago!......In all honesty, its nice to see scientists vindicated for all their study, and it's comforting to know that their long-mooted theories on astrophysics seem to be bang on the mark..

Just read PP's post.......interesting post.....Current theory suggests that the universe was created from a singularity, which has been an expanding bubble of space/time ever since, with no 3 dimensional edge, in essence we are trapped within the universe's own event horizon, in some ways, it could be fair to say that if you wanted to know what it is like inside a black hole, then look around you!

[PersianPaladin]

The same group of scientists that reported todays story, reported this ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3501313.stm ) nearly 5 years ago!......In all honesty, its nice to see scientists vindicated for all their study, and it's comforting to know that their long-mooted theories on astrophysics seem to be bang on the mark..

Just read PP's post.......interesting post.....Current theory suggests that the universe was created from a singularity, which has been an expanding bubble of space/time ever since, with no 3 dimensional edge, in essence we are trapped within the universe's own event horizon, in some ways, it could be fair to say that if you wanted to know what it is like inside a black hole, then look around you!

I think black-holes are similar to the spinning-wheels or chakras of the body (described in Indian spiritual science) that process, absorb and release energy around the body.

I think maybe there is a unity in the universe; and that such phenomena are more profound in the story of the cosmos than we may realise. Gravity for one thing; is problematic especially when we start talking about photons (which have no inherent mass) but yet they are the primary phenonema that nuclear fusion generates before exciting the electrons of related atoms from heavier elements. The gas around these super-massive blackholes is in the order of billions of degrees celcius; is of a plasmatic structure with considerable degree of electrical conductivity; whirling around a tiny entity which we calculate as having immense mass - but yet a lot of the physics associated with the elemental dynamics of black holes is experimental tbh. Is it really a mass or just the immense gravity and energy that is giving us the impression of this?

[Kentish Man]

Another version of the same story on MSN

"Astronomers who have taken a close-up look at the heart of the Milky Way say that "beyond any reasonable doubt" a giant black hole lurks at our galaxy's core.

The 16-year study tracked the motions of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way. Just as swirling leaves caught in a gust of wind can provide clues about air currents, so the stars' movements reveal information about forces at work at the galactic centre.

The observations, due to appear in a forthcoming edition of the Astrophysical Journal, show that the stars orbit a central concentration of mass four million times greater than that of the Sun.

Study leader Professor Reinhard Genzel, from the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, near Munich, Germany, said: "Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our long term study is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist.

"The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt."

The astronomers were also able to measure with great accuracy how far the Earth is from the centre of the galaxy - a distance of 27,000 light years.

Usually the central region of the Milky Way is hard to see because the view from Earth is blocked by interstellar dust. To overcome this problem, the astronomers focused on infrared light wavelengths that can penetrate the dust clouds.

The galaxy's central mass, long suspected of being a giant black hole, is known as "Sagittarius A star".

The European Southern Observatory study, which began in 1992, was made using the 3.5 metre New Technology Telescope at the La Silla observatory and the Very Large Telescope - an array of four 8.2 metre telescopes at the Paranal observatory. Both operate from the Atacama desert in Chile."

[Essan]

Having predicted that there was a black hole at the centre of our galaxy when I was about 15 I obviously find this as no surprise. Interestingly, a year or so earlier I 'became aware' that Epsilon Eridani had a solar system similar to our own - something only recently suspected by science.

http://spacefellowship.com/News/?p=7632

[Methuselah]

I think black-holes are similar to the spinning-wheels or chakras of the body (described in Indian spiritual science) that process, absorb and release energy around the body.

Are you saying that black holes don't exist, PP?

[PersianPaladin]

Are you saying that black holes don't exist, PP?

I should've said "analogous to" rather than neccessarily similar. But its just a theory.

And why do you assume that chakras don't exist? Just because conventional science cannot measure them doesn't mean they don't exist via other measurement methods (such as internal vibrations and breathing meditations, etc).

[sammie]

While in our dimension; black holes have an opposing density\gravitational relationship and pull matter inward; sometimes ejecting out hot gas at the periphery in strong jets.

I should read up more on my quantum theory; but it gives me a bloody big headache.

There is mathematical evidence for that, you can solve equations of relativity backwards and still get a valid numerical value. However it bearing in mind a numerical answer doesn’t mean it exists in reality.

Quantum theory hurts my head too, we had to do tiny wee parts of it for chem this semester (stuff like wave partial duality, quantisation of energy etc etc) and it broke my brain.

[A.J]

There is mathematical evidence for that, you can solve equations of relativity backwards and still get a valid numerical value. However it bearing in mind a numerical answer doesn’t mean it exists in reality.

Quantum theory hurts my head too, we had to do tiny wee parts of it for chem this semester (stuff like wave partial duality, quantisation of energy etc etc) and it broke my brain.

hehe...lol.....quantum physics certainly can be headache inducing, wait till you research stuff like super-symmetry and M-Theory, and the eventual evolution of our universe........If there's anyone interested, there's a wonderful book that I've studied called 'The Five Ages of the Universe-Inside the Physics of Eternity' by Adams & Laughlin, ISBN 0-684-86576-9.......fascinating reading

[PersianPaladin]

Quantum physics = boundary between deductive logic and fuzzy logic.

[sammie]

hehe...lol.....quantum physics certainly can be headache inducing, wait till you research stuff like super-symmetry and M-Theory, and the eventual evolution of our universe........If there's anyone interested, there's a wonderful book that I've studied called 'The Five Ages of the Universe-Inside the Physics of Eternity' by Adams & Laughlin, ISBN 0-684-86576-9.......fascinating reading :lol:

Dude we turned up to the first chem. lecture of the semester and it was an hour of; 'this is an atom and it has electrons' we sat there going '...dude...are you serious...this is going to be a walk!'

Walked in to the next lecture, and the lecturer walked up, wrong on the board; 'Quantum Mechanic Model of Atomic Structure - Wave Particle Duality.' The whole hall had a huge collective gasp and everyone looked at each other and went; 'Ballz!'

I'm gonna note the book and dig it up when I come back after the Christmas holiday, I'm going home Tuesday so I'm not going to have time to read it until after.

[Roger J Smith]

Here's my question for you deep thinkers.

Why is there anything?

There could just as easily have been nothing.

Was there ever nothing before there was something?

Will there ever be a time in the future with nothing?

Where will all the stuff that's here now go?

[A.J]

Here's my question for you deep thinkers.

Why is there anything?

There could just as easily have been nothing.

Was there ever nothing before there was something?

Will there ever be a time in the future with nothing?

Where will all the stuff that's here now go?

Roger, if you get chance, grab a copy of the book I mentioned in my earlier post, it pretty much explains those questions and a whole lot more, especially the last two, the authors' hypothosize that there will never be a time when there is nothing, quantum mechanics will see to that that (quantum tunneling, and phase-variancy) and also, all matter currently existing now, will degenerate to a lower state and decay, but never truly disappear..., space/time itself will continue to 'dilate' but never end....Mind boggling stuff, but very interesting, never the less!

[mezzacyclone]

space/time itself will continue to 'dilate' but never end....Mind boggling stuff, but very interesting, never the less!

mmm, space time you say, gets simpleton me every time? so when on my infrequent jollys I prefer to throw the clock away and go home when the tides fully in or its dark - whichever comes first, I often wonder what it all implies to everything non-human mind?

[A.J]

mmm, space time you say, gets simpleton me every time? so when on my infrequent jollys I prefer to throw the clock away and go home when the tides fully in or its dark - whichever comes first, I often wonder what it all implies to everything non-human mind?

And I thought quantum theory was confusing............Sorry Mezzacyclone, dont understand your post :lol:

[PersianPaladin]

Roger, if you get chance, grab a copy of the book I mentioned in my earlier post, it pretty much explains those questions and a whole lot more, especially the last two, the authors' hypothosize that there will never be a time when there is nothing, quantum mechanics will see to that that (quantum tunneling, and phase-variancy) and also, all matter currently existing now, will degenerate to a lower state and decay, but never truly disappear..., space/time itself will continue to 'dilate' but never end....Mind boggling stuff, but very interesting, never the less!

Ahh...energy cannot be created or destroyed. But from whence does it come from? Or is it simply a case that we must all accept the self-enforcing multiverse?

[A.J]

Ahh...energy cannot be created or destroyed. But from whence does it come from? Or is it simply a case that we must all accept the self-enforcing multiverse?

lol....PP, if i knew the answer to that, I'd be a rich man, with a few nobel prizes in my portfolio!.....As you said, energy cannot be created or destroyed, however, perhaps that law should be expanded into 'energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be transformed from one form to another in the 4 spatial dimensions as we know them'

meaning, if these theorists are correct, then our universe was born as a bubble of space/time that broke off from a multi-dimensional sea of high energy space/time (which still exits and is spawning new universes) thus energy wasnt created, but was channeled through to our universe through the initial big bang singularity.............Sorry mods for going off topic, but if the 'energy cannot be created/destroyed' theory is correct, then how does it explain matter/antimatter annihilation that took place in the first milliseconds of the universe's existence......Anyhoos, my brain is now fried, and I need a cup of tea and some nicotine to sort myself out! :lol:

[The watcher]

I was surprised to see this on the news, we already knew there was a black hole at the centre of our galaxy.....if I were a betting man I'd say the doomsday prophecies wil now be in full swing, here come the hypes :lol:

[PersianPaladin]

I'm sure that like the humans have sexual organs; then the black holes are the generative organs of the universe perhaps.

After all; the way elements come together so strongly shortly after the initial chaos of the big bang suggests that this universe is very, very horny.

[summer blizzard]

Quantim physics is a subject that interests me greatly despite my lack of knowledege, also the subject of condensates and their counterparts, which i believe could make articial gravity and faster than light travel possible.

In regards to the thread title, yes it was expected, but it is still better to have 90% confirmation than 70% so well done i say.

In regards to the birth of the universe and milti-dimentional theory, i think of our galaxy as being a little solar system inside the great galaxy that is the universe, if you ask me, dimensions and parrarel realities are a far more difficult subject to grasp, though interesting nonetheless.

[A.J]

I'm sure that like the humans have sexual organs; then the black holes are the generative organs of the universe perhaps.

After all; the way elements come together so strongly shortly after the initial chaos of the big bang suggests that this universe is very, very horny.

Disturbing!

:lol: