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Credit: J. Gitlin
(Space Telescope Science Institute),
NASA
Explanation:
What would the night sky look like if you lived on a planet near the center
of a galaxy? Now imagine that this galaxy houses a
black hole billions of
times more massive than a star. From this spectacular vantage
point, the sky
might look like the above illustration. This drawing is based on recent
observations of the center of NGC 4261,
made by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Results indicate that a disk of
dust 800-light years wide
surrounds the black hole. The hypothetical planet depicted above lies
within this disk. The black hole itself heats
gas to white-hot
temperatures, generating light that is reddened when reflected off the dust.
Jets
shoot off from the poles of the black hole, perpendicular to the disk.
However, friction with the dust and gas would cause planets near the black
hole to spiral in and disappear forever.
NASA has recently announced a
new
initiative to search for Earth-like planets in
our Galaxy.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: planet
Publications with words: planet
See also: