Omega Centauri's black hole makes it look like an impostor.Byline: ANIMunich, Dec 3 (ANI): New observations of the celestial giant Omega Centauri Omega Centauri Brightest globular cluster, located in the constellation Centaurus. It has a magnitude of 3.7 and is visible to the unaided eye as a faint luminous patch. , have suggested that there is a medium sized black hole sitting at its centre, which has made astronomers suggest that the galaxy might be an impostor. Appearing nearly as large as the full moon on the southern night sky, Omega Centauri is visible with the unaided eye from a clear, dark observing site. Containing millions of stars, this globular cluster globular cluster: see star cluster. globular cluster Any large group of old, Population II (see Populations I and II) stars closely packed in a symmetrical, somewhat spherical form. About 150 have been identified in the Milky Way Galaxy. is located roughly 17,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Centaurus. Even through a modest amateur telescope, the cluster is revealed as an incredible, densely packed sphere of glittering stars. Now, new observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the first large optical orbiting observatory. Built from 1978 to 1990 at a cost of $1.5 billion, the HST (named for astronomer E. P. Hubble) was expected to provide the clearest view yet obtained of the universe. and the Gemini observatories have indicated that there is a medium sized black hole sitting at Omega Centauri's centre. The study showed that stars at the cluster's centre were moving around at an unusual rate. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. astronomers, the cause of this phenomenon can be attributed to the gravitational grav·i·ta·tion n. 1. Physics a. The natural phenomenon of attraction between physical objects with mass or energy. b. The act or process of moving under the influence of this attraction. 2. effect of a massive black hole with a mass of roughly 40000 times that of the Sun. The presence of this black hole is just one of the reasons why some astronomers suspect Omega Centauri to be an imposter. Some believe that it is in fact the heart of a dwarf galaxy that was largely destroyed in an encounter with the Milky Way. Other evidence points to the several generations of stars present in the cluster, something unexpected in a typical globular cluster, which is thought to contain only stars formed at one time. (ANI) Copyright 2008 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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