The new visualization of NASA's black holes is fascinating

[ad_1]

In April 2019, scientists released the first image of a black hole, but its low resolution makes it difficult to understand what a black hole might look like.
The new visualization was done with the help of special software from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Created by Jeremy Schnittman, this visualization facilitates the understanding of Einstein's theory of special relativity.

In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope team released the first image of a black hole – an extremely dense object, to which even light can escape. The capture of the image has taken hundreds of scientists, years of work and eight telescopes, but the low resolution makes it difficult to understand the real appearance of black holes. Now, a new animation from NASA offers a clue.

The visualization, created by Jeremy Schnittman at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, shows how the gravity of a black hole distorts the light that surrounds it, in the manner of a carnival mirror. The gravitational attraction is so strong that we can see, from our point of view, the light that goes under and behind the black hole. NASA writes:

"Seen near the edge, the turbulent gas disk around a black hole takes on a whimsical double appearance.The extreme gravity of the black hole alters the light paths coming from different parts of the disc, thus producing the Black hole An extreme gravitational field redirects and distorts light from different parts of the disc, but what we see depends exactly on our viewing angle.The most significant distortion occurs when you view the system. almost lateral way. "

NASA

You may notice that the left side of the black hole accretion disk – a ring of hot material that orbits around a black hole near the speed of light – appears brighter than the right side , phenomenon explained by the Doppler effect.

"The glowing gas on the left side of the disc moves towards us so quickly that the effects of Einstein's relativity give it a surge in brightness; the reverse happens on the right side, where the gas that's going on Away from us is moving away slightly, "writes NASA. "This asymmetry disappears when we see the disc face to face because, from this point of view, no material moves in our field of vision."

Let's hope that visualization facilitates the understanding of Einstein's theory of special relativity.

"Simulations and films like these really help us visualize what Einstein meant when he said that gravity is distorting the fabric of space and time," Schnittman said. "Until very recently, these visualizations were limited to our imagination and our computer programs, and I never thought it would be possible to see a real black hole."

It is currently NASA's Black Hole Week. If you have always wanted to know more about one of the strangest creations of the cosmos, visit the agency's website.

NASA Guide to Safety in Black Holes