November 27, 2013 - redOrbit.com
Our understanding of how some black holes
consume matter might be changed by new observations of a black hole
powering an energetic X-ray source in a galaxy some 22 million light
years away. The findings, published in a recent issue of Nature,
indicate that this particular black hole, thought to be the engine
behind the X-ray source’s high-energy light output, is unexpectedly
lightweight. Additionally, in spite of the generous amount of dust and
gas being fed to it by a massive stellar companion, it swallows this
material in a surprisingly orderly fashion....
They were surprised, therefore, when the Gemini Observatory data revealed that M101 ULX-1′s black hole is on the small side. Astrophysicists are unable to explain why this is so.
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