Tag: Astronomy Point of Interest
Youngest Ever Nearby Black Hole Discovered
Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have found evidence of the youngest black hole known to exist in our cosmic neighborhood. The 30-year-old object provides a unique opportunity to watch a black hole develop from infancy.
The black hole is a remnant of SN 1979C, a supernova in the galaxy M100 approximately 50 million light years from Earth. Data from Chandra, NASA’s Swift satellite, the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton and the German ROSAT observatory revealed a bright source of X-rays that has remained steady during observation from 1995 to 2007. This suggests the object is a black hole being fed either by material falling into it from the supernova or a binary companion.
Excerpt from NASA Science News
For more information and images, visit the Chandra page.
Link to the Dec 14, 2010 NES chat with Black Holes expert, Dr. Sten Odenwald, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Link to NES module, Black Holes Math. (Must be logged into the NES Virtual Campus as a participant of the NES project)
Link to the NES Virtual Campus home page.
NASA Mission Successfully Flies by Comet Hartley 2
For more information about EPOXI and to see the stunning pictures of Comet Hartley 2 visit https://www.nasa.gov/epoxi.
Want to Go to Mars? Here's Your Chance.
Orionid Meteor Shower This Week
Link to the NES Virtual Campus.
Celebrate World Space Week — Oct. 4-10, 2010
This international event commemorates the beginning of the Space Age with the launch of Sputnik 1 on Oct. 4, 1957. World Space Week is the largest public space event in the world, with celebrations in more than 50 nations. Last year, President Obama joined the celebration by hosting a Star Party at the White House that included invitations to students from NASA Explorer Schools in the Washington, D.C. area.
By the Light of the Super Silvery Moon
Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
Link to the NASA Explorer Schools Virtual Campus.