New knowledge about life of a black hole have been obtained thanks to data from the Spitzer space telescope of the POT
, which is now retired. This time they show us how one feeds.
According to Spitzer, streams of dust thousands of light years long are flowing toward the supermassive black hole in the Andromeda galaxy. These currents help explain the eating habits of these cosmic monsters.
New insights into the life of a black hole have been obtained thanks to data from NASA’s Spitzer space telescope. | NASA/JPL-CALTECH
A constant and silent feast
As the Supermassive black holes devour gas and dust, the material heats up just before falling, creating incredible light shows, sometimes brighter than an entire galaxy full of stars. When the material is consumed in groups of different sizes, the black hole’s brightness fluctuates.
However, the black holes at the center of the Milky Way (Earth’s home galaxy) and Andromeda (one of our closest galactic neighbors) are among the quietest devourers in the universe. The little light they emit does not vary significantly in brightness, suggesting that they are consuming a small but constant stream of food, rather than large groups.
Simulating the feeding of a cosmic monster
At the beginning of this year he took the hypothesis that a silent supermassive black hole is fed by a constant flow of gas and applied it to the Andromeda galaxy. Using computer models, the authors simulated how gas and dust in the vicinity of the Andromeda supermassive black hole might behave over time.
The simulation showed that a small disk of hot gas near black hole ssupermassive and feed him continuously. The disk could be replenished and maintained by numerous streams of gas and dust.
However, the researchers also discovered that these currents must remain within a certain size and flow rate. Otherwise, matter would fall into the black hole in irregular clumps, causing more fluctuations in light.
When the authors compared their findings with data from Spitzer and the NASA Hubble Space Telescope
, found dust spirals previously identified by Spitzer that fit within these constraints. From this, the authors concluded that the spirals are fueling Andromeda’s supermassive black hole.
