Space

NASA Observatory records 20 million-mph winds off stellar-mass black hole

NASA Observatory records 20 million-mph winds off stellar-mass black hole
Artist's impression of stellar-mass black hole IGR J17091 (Image: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
Artist's impression of stellar-mass black hole IGR J17091 (Image: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
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Artist's impression of stellar-mass black hole IGR J17091 (Image: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
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Artist's impression of stellar-mass black hole IGR J17091 (Image: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has recorded ultra-fast 20 million mph (32 million km/h) winds roaring from a gas disk around the stellar-mass black hole IGR J17091-3624. The wind speeds are a record, a factor of ten greater than any previously recorded, for a black hole of this kind. It is hoped the surprise discovery will shed new light on the behavior of stellar-mass black holes.

In fact winds of this speed are generally associated with supermassive black holes millions (or even billions) of times as massive. Stellar-mass black holes have a mass of at least three, but typically between five and 10, solar masses, and are caused by the collapse of massive stars.

The speed of the winds (about three percent of the speed of light) is not the only surprise to researchers. The multi-directional winds also seem to be carrying more matter than is being captured by the black hole.

"Contrary to the popular perception of black holes pulling in all of the material that gets close, we estimate up to 95 percent of the matter in the disk around IGR J17091 is expelled by the wind," said the University of Michigan's Ashley King, lead author of the study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters earlier this week.

The winds from black hole accretion disks are believed to be magnetically driven. These forces are also thought to generate radio jets, differentiated from winds by their terrific speed (almost the speed of light) in one direction - directly perpendicular to the disk itself.

The wind speeds were recorded in 2011 based on a spectrum of iron ions recorded by Chandra. Interestingly, a similar recording made two months prior suggested no such ultra-winds, and so it is thought that they occur cyclically. Complimentary observations from the National Radio Astronomy showed that no radio jet was in evidence at the time of the high-speed winds, reinforcing the belief that the occurrence of winds can interfere with such jets.

Launched in 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory is the third of NASA's four Great Observatories - the Hubble Telescope, Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, and the Sptizer Telescope being the others.

Source: NASA

2 comments
2 comments
Filip Petrov
8 940.8 kilometer/second - nothing special, Voyager 1 has speed nearly 0.001 % of this wind\'s speed (17.46 km/s)
Mohammad Shafiq Khan
Black Holes are just imaginary castles in the air & they are talking about fantasies. Both, Newton & Einstein had rejected aether before introducing their laws & theories. Whereas aether has been shown to be existing and containing the secrets of light & time. Once aether is accepted space is again finite & absolute and filled up with aether, the electric dipoles, and it is aether through which forces of nature are transmitted as against the irrational action at a distance through fields without knowing the physicality of the fields, time is emergent & relative depending upon motion of the observer, and as humans perceive it, time is emergent and matter is not absolute but emergent. (This alternative paradigm reveals that there is very powerful God who has power on matter & time and everything existing in the finite space and existence of God is the prerequisite for the creation & existence of universe ). In brief the scenario is as under Aristotle:- Space- absolute & finite; time- absolute, matter-absolute, light/radiation- not properly known
Newton:- Space, time & matter same as Aristotle; light a wave-motion with corpuscular theory
Einstein:- Space- interconnected with time & emergent, Time-emergen & interconnected with space & relative, matter & Energy (light/radiation) is absolute & transmutable and light/radiation as wave-motion with no clue as to what is light/radiation physically.
Final state of existence:- Space-absolute & finite, time- emergent & relative depending on the motion of the observer/body with respect to aether at rest frame of reference, matter-emergent & finite, light/radiation- a electromagnetic disturbance of electric dipoles of aether creating a wave motion and all forces of nature being electromagnetic forces which is being transmitted through aether, the electric dipoles.
Following is the list of my published scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals & sites where these articles are available 1. Experimental & Theoretical Evidences of Fallacy of Space-time Concept and Actual State of Existence of the Physical Universe 2. Foundation of Theory of Everything: Non-living Things & Living Things (Revised version on World Science Database, General Science Journal, Vixra and Academia.edu in my profile) 3.Michelson-Morley Experiment: A Misconceived & Misinterpreted Experiment 4. Energy Theory of Matter & Cosmology (Revised version on World Science Database, General Science Journal, Vixra and Academia.edu in my profile) 5. 'On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies' by Albert Einstein is Based on Trickeries (www.elixirjournal.org Feb.2012) 6.Ultimate Proof of Energy Theory of Matter & Cosmology 7. Theory of Origin & Phenomenon of Life These publications are available at the journal site of Indian Journal of Science & Technology (a peer-reviewed journal) www.indjst.org (March 2012,oct 2010, oct 2011,Aug 2010) and also on www.gsjournal.net, www.worldsci.org, viXra, Intellectual Archives, ResearchGate & Academia.edu in my profile. On the basis of above-mentioned articles an open challenge has been put forward to the adopted paradigm of physics. The standing (till date) open challenge could seen at http://www.worldsci.org/php/index.php?tab0=Abstracts&tab1=Display&id=6476&tab=2 and http://www.gsjournal.net/Science-Journals/Essays/View/4018.