Scientists are investigating an unusually wobbly black hole
A few weeks after NASA released the first-ever image of a black hole, astronomers have announced another black hole first.
This black hole, named V404 Cygni after the Cygnus constellation where it appears, might literally be "warping space" around it, Space reports. We've never seen anything like it — instead of sucking all matter into itself, like black holes tend to do, V404 Cygni has been observed spewing particles out of its gravitational pull.
Scientists have observed black holes ejecting particles before, in streams called "relativistic jets." What truly sets this black hole apart is that it's doing so at speeds we never thought possible — so fast that when astronomers initially tried to get a picture of the process, all that came back was a blur. They had to change the exposure time of their pictures from four hours to just 70 seconds in order to see what was going on.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The new find, published on Monday in Nature, was "completely unexpected," said Greg Sivakoff, one of the study's co-authors. V404 Cygni has "deepened our understanding" of how black holes work.
Currently, scientists think that the fast-paced wobbling of this black hole has something to do with Einstein's theory of general relativity, Space explained. According to that theory, when an object as big as a black hole spins, it pulls the fabric of space and time with it.
Learn more about how this unusual discovery could inform our theories about the universe at Space.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 22, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
US won its war on 'murder hornets,' officials say
Speed Read The announcement comes five years after the hornets were first spotted in the US
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dark energy data suggest Einstein was right
Speed Read Albert Einstein's 1915 theory of general relativity has been proven correct, according to data collected by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New DNA tests of Pompeii dead upend popular stories
Speed Read An analysis of skeletal remains reveals that some Mount Vesuvius victims have been wrongly identified
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
NASA's Europa Clipper blasts off, seeking an ocean
Speed Read The ship is headed toward Jupiter on a yearslong journey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Detailed map of fly's brain holds clues to human mind
Speed Read This remarkable fruit fly brain analysis will aid in future human brain research
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why water on Mars is so significant
The Explainer Enough water has been found to cover the surface of the Red Planet – but there's a catch
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
What is NASA working on?
In Depth A running list of the space agency's most exciting developments
By Devika Rao, The Week US Last updated
-
Liquid water detected on Mars raises hopes of life
Speed Read A new study suggests huge amounts of water could be trapped beneath the surface of Mars
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published