Spacetelescope.org - Thu 11 Jul 22:46 GMT
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have observed an unexpected thin disc of material encircling a supermassive black hole at the heart of the spiral galaxy NGC 3147, located 130 million light-years away.
The disc is so deeply embedded in the black hole's intense gravitational field that the light from the gas disc is altered, according to these theories, giving astronomers a unique peek at the dynamic processes close to a black hole.
The disc's material was measured by Hubble to be whirling around the black hole at more than 10% of the speed of light.
"This is an intriguing peek at a disc very close to a black hole, so close that the velocities and the intensity of the gravitational pull are affecting how we see the photons of light," explained the study's first author, Stefano Bianchi, of Università degli Studi Roma Tre in Italy.
These models predict that discs of material should form when ample amounts of gas are trapped by a black hole's strong gravitational pull, subsequently emitting lots of light and producing a brilliant beacon called a quasar.
The team hopes to use Hubble to hunt for other very compact discs around low-luminosity black holes in similar active galaxies.
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