This radius is called the Schwarzschild radius (Rs), and it is given by the following equation: Said another way, any object which collapses to the point where its radius is less than a certain limit must ultimately become a black hole. Since the exact mass of an object like a star that must ultimately become a black hole is a function of its radius, there isn’t an exact mass above which that object must collapse to a black hole. LaurenĪnswer: An earlier post to this blog on “Properties of Stars which Result in Black Holes” provides a general overview to this question. Studying dwarf galaxies, or those that have remained small over time, could help astronomers discover how supermassive black holes came to exist early on in the history of the universe.Question: How do you calculate the critical mass for a star to become a black hole? I’m an undergraduate Math major, and this is my senior thesis and I really have no idea where to start. ![]() The smaller black hole inside of dwarf galaxy Henize 2-10 is releasing material at a much slower and gentler speed, creating just the right conditions for star birth. Any gas clouds unfortunate enough to be in the way of these jets would become so hot, they wouldn’t be able to cool down enough to form stars. ![]() In large galaxies, black holes spew out superheated jets of material that nearly reach the speed of light. It’s a rare case of a black hole helping stars to form, rather than tearing them apart. Star-gobbling burp from our Milky Way's black hole is detected by astronomers NASA, ESA, Gerald Cecil (UNC-Chapel Hill), Joseph DePasquale (STScI) These date are circumstantial evidence that the black hole occasionally accretes stars or gas clouds, and ejects some of the superheated material along its spin axis. Farther down near the black hole are X-ray observations of superheated gas colored green and blue. The jet scatters off the cloud into tendrils that flow northward. One such feature, at the top tip of the jet is interpreted at a hydrogen cloud that has been hit by the outflowing jet. The orange colored features are of glowing hydrogen gas. The graphic of a translucent, vertical white fan is added to show the suggested axis of a mini-jet from the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's heart. This is a composite of view of X-rays and warm ionized gas near the galactic center. “From the beginning I knew something unusual and special was happening in Henize 2-10, and now Hubble has provided a very clear picture of the connection between the black hole and a neighboring star forming region located 230 light-years from the black hole,” said study author Amy Reines, an assistant professor in the department of physics at Montana State University, in a statement. While large galaxies are known to contain a supermassive black hole at their center, galaxies like Henize 2-10 have caused astronomers to debate if the same is possible in smaller-scale cosmic settings.Ĭompared to the massive Milky Way galaxy and its billions of stars, Henize 2-10 only has about a tenth of the stars. ![]() The galaxy is located 30 million light-years away in the Pyxis constellation. The stream of gas provided by the black hole actually triggered a fireworks show of star birth as it interacted with the cloud, which led to a cluster of forming stars. Star birth requires a dense cloud of gas and dust. Hubble’s observation of a dwarf starburst galaxy, called Henize 2-10, revealed a gaseous umbilical cord stretching from a black hole at the center of the galaxy to a stellar nursery where stars are born.Ī dwarf starburst galaxy is a small galaxy with an intense amount of star formation. In a twist, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that these energetic celestial objects have a nurturing side, too. Black holes are best known for shredding stars, devouring light and acting like massive garbage disposals in space.
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