Scientists Just Found 300 of Some of the Rarest Black Holes in the Universe
300 of these elusive black holes were recently observed by NSF NOIRLab's DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument).
While some are the active galactic nuclei of dwarf galaxies, most are thought to have been the seeds of what are now supermassive black holes.
Some black holes are supermassive beasts up to tens of billions of times the mass of our Sun. Then, there are stellar-mass black holes, which top out at a few solar masses. So... what fills the void in between?
One of the rarest types of black holes in the universe are intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). Sometimes referred to as 'missing link' black holes, these cosmic gaping maws—which can be anywhere from about 100 to 100,000 solar masses in size—have proved difficult to find. Recently, however, NSF NOIRLab's Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has been able to detect 300 more of them. DESI also detected active black holes in many dwarf galaxies, which are exactly what they sound like—rather small black holes with only a handful of stars (if you could call thousands to several billion a handful) scattered around.
Only between 100 and 150 IMBHs were known, until now. Using the new data, a research team led by Ragadeepika Pucha from the University of Utah wanted to find out what intermediate-mass black holes can tell us about black hole formation.
Supermassive black holes (SMBHs), which lurk in the centers of enormous galaxies like our own, destroy and consume so much material and expel so much energy that they are fairly obvious. Both the Milky Way's supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A*) and the monster at the heart of the galaxy M83 were able to be imaged because of the extreme brightness of their accretion disks.
Black holes of lower mass, however, don't devour nearly as much. As a result, they are harder to make out—though, it does help if a smaller black hole is actively feeding at the time of observation, as the energy given off as it rips stars apart makes it easier to spot.
'When a black hole at the center of a galaxy starts feeding, it unleashes a tremendous amount of energy into its surroundings, transforming into what we call an active galactic nucleus,' Pucha said in a press release. 'This dramatic activity serves as a beacon, allowing us to identify hidden black holes in these small galaxies.'
While Pucha's team was expecting most of the newly discovered IMBHs to be the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) of dwarf galaxies, that turned out not to be the case. Only 70 intermediate-mass black holes were associated with dwarf galaxies, judging by where their energy emissions came from. This is a surprise, considering how closely IMBHs are associated with dwarf galaxies (Given their size, it makes sense that their AGNs would be black holes of intermediate mass). But surprises are like candy to scientists, as they offer opportunities to ask questions that the experts may never have even thought to pose.
After finding out the remaining IMBHs were not in dwarf galaxies, the researchers want to continue investigating these mysterious objects. They think that at least some of these black holes could be supermassive black hole seeds that might help explain the origins of the SMBHs we see in the universe today.
SMBHs form by accretion, meaning that they accumulate more and more mass over time—either through standard 'eating' or through mergers with other black holes—until they reach a size that can hold a galaxy together. But these gigantic black holes had to start somewhere, and one of the leading theories for what their seeds may have been is IMBHs.
Because the IMBHs observed by DESI are so distant, the team was able to see them as they were billions and billions of years ago, since that is how long their light took to reach Earth. As a result, it is possible that some of these objects have evolved into SMBHs by now, and studying their origins could tell us a lot about their evolution.
'As we cannot directly observe their formation with our current telescopes, we focus on their imprints on the local universe,' Pucha and her team said in a study recently posted to the preprint server arXiv. 'Most of these early black holes grow via accretion and mergers into the SMBHs we see today.'
DESI, which will be scanning the sky for five more years, is expected to observe around 40 million galaxies and quasars during its lifespan. If it's already found 300 examples of one of the universe's greatest mysteries, who knows what else it will find.
You Might Also Like
The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape
The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere
Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
A Fragment of Earth's Original Crust Still Exists—and It's Buried in Canada
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here's what you'll learn in this story: What are now thought to be the oldest rocks on Earth have been confirmed to have an age of almost 4.2 billion years, almost as old as the planet itself. Researchers were met with controversy for their initial claims, but dating isotopes of one metal that decayed into another showed that the igneous rock from northeastern Canada really was that old. This ancient piece of our planet could tell us more about its turbulent past. Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, and as the eons passed, the crust of the young planet experienced turbulence. Asteroid collisions shattered some parts, which melted and recrystallized, while tectonic plates constantly shifted and triggered volcanic eruptions that oozed magma over the surface. Erosion further erased evidence of our planet's early scars. The most ancient layers of crust were all but lost—until now. The oldest crust on our planet formed during what is known as the Hadean epoch. Reaching back to the period between 4.6 to 4 billion ago, this was when the Solar System was still forming in a thick haze of gas and dust (possibly the refuse from a supernova) that surrounded the nascent Sun. It is an epoch not even considered part of geologic time because, for years, the only rocks found dating back from this period were meteorites that fell from space. Hadean meteorites and lunar rocks up to 4.5 billion years old have been found before, but nothing directly from Earth even came close. As Earth became covered in swaths of ocean, layers of soil and landscapes as diverse as forests, deserts, mountains, volcanic plains, glaciers, grasslands and cities built by humans, primordial relics were buried even deeper. Anything found to have been part of our planet's crust in the distant past was 3.8 billion years old or younger. That puts even our latest findings in the Archean period, which followed the Hadean. Geologist Jonathan O'Neil of Ottawa University in Canada refused to believe there were no Hadean fragments of crust remaining. While zircons found embedded in Australian rocks were successfully dated back to that period, an actual piece of crust that old had never surfaced. In a controversial 2008 study, O'Neil and his research team claimed that they had discovered a part of the original crust in northeast Canada's remote Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt. This formation has stayed intact almost since Earth was born. It could be a portal into Earth's earliest growing pains. There was just one problem. Another group of researchers steadfastly argued that the rocks of the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt were no older than 3.8 billion years. While the 4-billion-year-old rocks of the Acasta gneiss in the northwest of Canada were slightly older, having just barely formed at the end of the Hadean, they were still not old enough. O'Neil was determined to prove that the Nuvvuagittuq rock, originally a flood plain of magma that hardened into volcanic basalt, predated the other pieces of crust. It turned out that the evidence was hiding in the rock itself, and not in the form of zircons. When they first formed, they had contained samarium, a metal which oxidizes when exposed to air. Any samarium in the rocks was long gone. However, samarium isotopes had left behind chemical signatures of their decay into isotopes of neodymium. Two different isotopes of neodymium which had come from two samarium isotopes were both dated to 4.16 billion years. 'The age agreement between both extant and extinct radiogenic systems, in rocks related through igneous fractionation, is compelling evidence for preservation of Hadean rocks in the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt, opening a rare window into Earth's earliest times,' O'Neil and his colleagues said in a study recently published in Science. There could be more crust that ancient which has not been unearthed yet. It is even possible that some may have landed on the Moon. 4.4 billion years ago, not long after Earth formed, an extreme collision shattered part of the Earth and formed our only satellite, which has not been explored by humans since the Apollo Era. What future Artemis astronauts find once we return to the Moon might give us more insight about how our planet grew up. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Gizmodo
‘Death Wish' Planet Actively Triggers Destructive Flares From Its Host Star
A young, energetic star has had just about enough of its clingy planet. The pair are mired in a toxic relationship, with the planet sending waves of energy toward the star—and the host star is responding with violent explosions that are destroying its planet over time. Using the European Space Agency's (ESA) Cheops mission, a team of astronomers from the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy gathered evidence for the first known exoplanet with an apparent death wish. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the team describes the planet, similar in size to Jupiter, which may be triggering flares of radiation from the star it orbits. Although astronomers have theorized about this type of interaction before, the flares recorded in this star system are around 100 times more energetic than expected, according to the study. The planet, named HIP 67522 b, is one of the wispiest exoplanets ever found, with density similar to candy floss. It takes just seven days to orbit its star, which is slightly larger and cooler than the Sun. And while our host star is a middle-aged 4.5-billion-year-old, this young star has only been around for 17 million years. Compared to the Sun, this star is more energetic and has a more powerful magnetic field. The team behind the study first spotted the young star system using TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite). 'We hadn't seen any systems like HIP 67522 before,' Ekaterina Ilin, lead author of the study, said in a statement. 'When the planet was found it was the youngest planet known to be orbiting its host star in less than 10 days.' The astronomers were on the hunt for stars releasing flares due to interactions with their orbiting planets, and they believed they found the perfect pair. To be sure of their findings, the team of astronomers wanted a closer look using ESA's sensitive CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS). 'With Cheops we saw more flares, taking the total count to 15, almost all coming in our direction as the planet transited in front of the star as seen from Earth,' Ilin said. Our own Sun releases solar flares, intense bursts of energy that explode from its atmosphere when a build-up of magnetic energy is suddenly released. Solar flares are sometimes directed toward Earth through no fault of our own. For the unlucky exoplanet, however, the strong flares from its host star are likely its own doing. Since HIP 67522 b orbits so close to its star, it may be exerting its own magnetic influence on the host star. The planet may be gathering energy as it orbits, then redirecting that energy as waves along the star's magnetic field line. When those waves meet the end of the magnetic field line at the star's surface, it triggers a massive flare. 'The planet seems to be triggering particularly energetic flares,' Ilin said. 'The waves it sends along the star's magnetic field lines kick off flares at specific moments. But the energy of the flares is much higher than the energy of the waves. We think that the waves are setting off explosions that are waiting to happen.' The radiation carried by the flares is eroding the planet's wispy atmosphere and causing it to lose mass at a much faster rate. In the next 100 million years, HIP 67522 b could go from a Jupiter-sized planet to a much smaller Neptune-sized planet, according to the study. The team behind the study wants to carry out follow-up observations of the unique star system using different wavelengths to find out what kind of energy is being released by the star. 'I have a million questions because this is a completely new phenomenon, so the details are still not clear,' Ilin said.
Business Wire
6 days ago
- Business Wire
Westinghouse and ITER Sign a $180M Contract to Advance Nuclear Fusion
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Westinghouse Electric Company and ITER signed a contract for $180 million for the assembly of the vacuum vessel for the fusion reactor. This is a key milestone in the construction of the ITER reactor, leading the way toward the use of fusion as a practical future source of reliable carbon-free energy. Westinghouse will be responsible for completing the vacuum vessel which is ITER's most critical component: a hermetically sealed, double-walled steel container that will house the fusion plasma. When all the vacuum vessel sectors are in place, Westinghouse will start the most intensive stage of ITER assembly: simultaneously welding the nine sectors to form a single, circular ring-shaped chamber (also known as a torus). 'ITER is pleased to have Westinghouse Electric Company taking on this significant role in our first-of-a kind project,' said Pietro Barabaschi, ITER Director-General. 'With decades of leadership in nuclear power plant design and construction, we are confident that Westinghouse will be able to apply its remarkable expertise to the assembly of the ITER Tokamak.' 'Westinghouse has always been at the forefront of energy innovation, and we are proud to work with ITER on this breakthrough initiative that could ensure energy security for generations to come,' said Dan Sumner, Westinghouse Interim CEO. 'Our expert teams look forward to bringing our world-class capabilities and expertise to the completion of this important project.' Westinghouse has collaborated with ITER for over a decade and has played a key role in the manufacturing of key parts for ITER vacuum vessel, including the manufacturing of five vacuum vessel sectors in cooperation with its partners Ansaldo Nucleare and Walter Tosto. Westinghouse participation involved developing advanced fabrication techniques and collaborating with global partners to meet ITER's high-quality requirements. Westinghouse Electric Company is shaping the future of carbon-free energy by providing safe, innovative nuclear technologies to utilities globally. Westinghouse supplied the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor in 1957 and the company's technology is the basis for nearly one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants. Over 135 years of innovation make Westinghouse the preferred partner for advanced technologies covering the complete nuclear energy life cycle. For more information, visit and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and X. ITER —designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power—will be the world's largest experimental fusion facility. Fusion is the process that powers the Sun and the stars: when light atomic nuclei fuse together to form heavier ones, a large amount of energy is released. Fusion research is aimed at developing a safe, abundant and environmentally responsible energy source. ITER is also a first-of-a-kind global collaboration that serves as the scientific backbone behind the growth of a fusion industry. As the host, Europe contributes almost half of the costs of its construction, while the other six Members to this joint international venture (China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States), contribute equally for the remaining expenses. The ITER Project is under construction in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, in the south of France. For more information on the ITER Project, visit:
