The Universe and Its Stars
Scientific knowledge is based on the assumption that natural
laws operate today as they did in the past and they will continue
to do so in the future.
We still do not understand everything about the universe.
Ex. We do not know what causes gravity, only how
impacts things.
As we develop new instruments (ex. telescopes & particle
accelerators), we will gain more information about our universe and
the quantum forces involved in it.
Telescopes
•
Telescopes gather more light than
our eyes can, and provide greater
•
•
Refractors: Use lenses to refract
clarity.
(bend) light into a focus to form an
Radio telescopes use a dish to reflect
image. No modern professional
radio waves to a focus where an
telescopes use this design.
•
antenna collects them.
Reflectors: Use mirrors to reflect light
into a focus to form an image.
•
Radio Telescope
in Puerto Rico
dish 300 m wide
Space Telescopes
Why put telescopes in Space? …To get above the atmosphere
Which image do you think is the
one taken from space?
Advantages of having a telescope in space:
•
•
•
•
No atmospheric blurring.
The sky is darker.
To see light blocked by the atmosphere.
Mirrors do not flex under their own
weight as they do on the ground.
Other theories for the
Origin of the Universe
Steady state theory
• It suggests that the universe
always has been the same
as it is now. The universe
always existed and always
will. As the universe
expands, new matter is
created to keep the overall
density of the universe the
same or in a steady state.
Oscillating model
• In this model, the universe
began with expansion. Over
time, the expansion slowed
and the universe
contracted. Then the
process began again,
oscillating back and forth.
Big Bang theory occurred approximately 13.7 billion years ago.
•
we are reasonably certain that the universe had a beginning.
•
According to the standard theory, our universe sprang into existence as a
"singularity" around 13.7 billion years ago.
•
Prior to the singularity, nothing existed, not space, time, matter, or energy -
nothing. We don't know where it came from, why it's here, or even where it is. All
we really know is that at one time it didn't exist.
•
At a singularity, space and time cease to exist as we know them.
•
The laws of physics as we know them break down at a singularity, so it's not really
possible to envision something with infinite density and zero volume
Big Bang
Theory - The
Premise.
•
After its initial appearance, it apparently
inflated (the "Big Bang"), expanded and
cooled, going from very, very small and
Begins with
very, very hot, to the size and temperature
SINGULARITY-
of our current universe.
everything in the
•
It continues to expand and cool to this day
universe formed at
•
an expanding universe that began as an
this time
infinitesimal singularity which appeared
Big Bang/
out of nowhere for reasons unknown.
INFLATION Rapid
expansion outward
•
Big Bang theory occurred approximately
13.7 billion years ago.
BIG BANG THEORY Videos Big Bang- How the Universe Workshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-nSdxAjljA
 Inflation- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LGia74lu70
• Expanding universehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcJ2u1BAL4I- NOVA
• Cosmic microwave background radiationhttp://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.eiu.microwave/ Video 15 min.
•
The Elements: Forged in Stars- PBS Nucleosynthesis=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKqvjEE0wFg
Universe formation
•
Universe forms from the gravitational attraction of molecules in a
nebulae.
•
As the mass increases due to gravity, it clears out the space
around it. If there is enough material pulled inward it forms a star,
it not it may form a planet.
•
The pressure from the gravitational attraction in a star begins the
FUSION reaction where Hydrogen atoms combine to form helium
(and eventually heavier atoms), releasing the energy of the star
that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation.
•
The mass rotates. It is believed that our galaxy has a black hole in
the middle.
Nebulaes
nursery
of stars
&
planets
Recycling Matter
• The matter in stars is
recycled many times.
• Spectrographs have
shown that the Sun
contains some carbon,
iron, and other
heavier elements.
Solar System Began
•
A large nebula, or cloud of material,
was rotating slowly in space. Shock
waves, perhaps from a nearby
exploding star, might have caused the
cloud to start condensing about 5
billion years ago
•
Steps
•
Gravity attracts molecules in a Cloud
of dust & gas
•
Cloud rotates & matter clumps in
center due to gravity
•
protosun changed into sun (if enough
gravity & mass)
Origin of the Solar System
• remaining gas, ice, and dust in
• Most of the
the outer areas of the nebula
condensing material
condensed, collided, and stuck
was pulled by gravity
together forming planets, moons,
toward the center to
and other components of the
form an early Sun.
solar system.
• Motion involves spinning
Evidence of the Big Bang
HS-ESS1-2. Construct an explanation of the Big Bang
theory based on astronomical evidence of light
spectra, motion of distant galaxies, and
composition of matter in the universe.
1.
Red shift of light galaxies appear to be moving away from us at speeds proportional to their distance.
This is called "Hubble's Law," named after Edwin Hubble. (The Doppler shift) indicates the universe is
expanding faster rates. If a star is moving toward Earth, its wavelengths of light are compressed. If a star is
moving away from Earth, its wavelengths of light are stretched.
2.
Cosmic microwave background radiation- In 1965, Radio astronomers discovered Cosmic Microwave
Background radiation (CMB) which pervades the observable universe, thought to be the remnant of
predicted heat which scientists were looking for.
3.
Composition of elements; ordinary matter of the universe; Stars, produce elements nucleosynthesis
based on the mass of a star and the stage of its lifetime. The Big Bang produced two chemicals, hydrogen
and helium. (75% H & 25% He by mass). Heavier elements were produced later by stars through nuclear
fusion or when certain massive stars achieve a supernova stage and explode to produce the heaviest
elements known(HS-ESS1-2),(HS-ESS1-3) In nuclear processes, atoms are not conserved, but the total
number of protons plus neutrons is conserved.
The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used
to identify compositional elements of stars, their
movements, and their distances from Earth.
The Red Shift is based on the Doppler Effect
•
When a spectroscope is
used to study light from
galaxies beyond the Local
Group, a red shift occurs
in the light.
Composition: NUCLEOSYNTHESIS –
a. Elements are made in the stars through the
process of fusion: H + H  He.
b. Nucleosynthesis, and therefore the different
elements created, varies as a function of the
mass of a star and the stage of its lifetime. In
medium size stars elements combine to produce
elements up to Fe. Iron). Heavier elements are
produced in a SUPERNOVA.
Today astronomers believe that around three quarters
of the mass of the Universe consists of dark matter
•
•
Dark Matter neither reflects, emits or obstructs
Universe have found that the expansion is
light (or indeed any other type of
actually speeding up.
electromagnetic radiation
•
•
Hubble studies of the expansion rate of the
•
Astronomers have explained this using the
It cannot be observed directly. However, Hubble
theory of dark energy, as a sort of negative
studies of how clusters of galaxies bend the light
gravity that pushes the Universe apart ever
that passes through them lets astronomers
faster.
deduce where the hidden mass lies. This means •
that they are able to make maps of where the
in the early moments following the Big Bang,
the universe itself acted as a particle
dark matter lies in a cluster.
accelerator.
Cosmologists speculate that the dark matter
may be made of non-baryonic matter particles,
produced shortly after the Big Bang
Uses light to separate
substances and identify.
• Electromagnetic Radiation; Atoms of each element emit
and absorb characteristic frequencies of light. These
characteristics allow identification of the presence of an
element using a spectrograph, even in microscopic
quantities.
• temperature: Brightness/color – hottest- blue- whiteyellow - red (coolest star)
• movements (elliptical);
• Distances from Earth. (Parallax) Parallaxes give us distances
to stars up to perhaps a few thousand light years.
•
How do scientists determine the distance
from Earth to nearby stars?
One way is to measure parallax—the apparent
shift in the position of an object when
viewed from two different positions
.
Used to determine distance of star from earth
•
Closer- greater apparent change in position
•
Extend your arm and look at your thumb first
with your left eye closed and then with your
right eye closed. Your thumb appears to
change position with respect to the
background.
•
Now do the same experiment with your
thumb closer to your face. What do you
observe? The nearer an object is to the
observer, the greater its parallax is.
Measurement in
Space
PARALLAX
Magnitude of Stars
• Brightness
• The brighter the star, the
smaller the number that
describes its magnitude
• Brightest have negative
magnitudes
•
•
Distance is measured in AU
1 AU is Distance from earth to sun
Units= light-years
• Distance that light travels at a
speed of 310 000 km/sec will
cover in 1 year
• = 9.5 trillion km
• Apparent magnitudebrightness as it appears
from Earth
• Absolute magnitudebrightness if stars were a
standard distance from
Earth- 32.6 light-years.
Star Brightness &
Size
• H-R Diagram
The Main
Sequence
• Stars seem to fit
into specific areas of
the graph.
• Most stars fit into a
diagonal band that
runs from the upper
left to the lower
right of the graph.
• This band, called the
main sequence,
contains hot, blue,
bright stars in the upper
left and cool, red, dim
stars in the lower right
A Star Is Born
• When the temperature inside the core of a nebula piece reaches 10
million K, fusion begins.
• The energy released radiates outward though the condensing ball of gas
• As the energy radiates into space, stars are born.
Star Life cycles
• The star called the sun is
changing and will burn
out over a lifespan of
approximately 10 billion
years.
• Larger stars burn out
faster and have a shorter
life-span.
• If they are about 3 X the
size of our sun they may
go super nova and form a
black hole.
Evolution of Stars
• When hydrogen fuel is
• The Sun has a main
depleted, a star loses its
sequence life span of about
main sequence status.
10 billion years.
• This can take less than 1
• We estimate that we are
million years for the
about ½ way through this
brightest stars to many
cycle.
billions of years for the
dimmest stars
Life cycle
•
•
•
•
•
High mass Star
The larger the star, the faster the H burns.
• Supernova- most violent
For all stars, when most of the hydrogen is event
fused, *used up, the…
• core remains/ becomes
core collapses
neutron star
outer layer expand
• extremely dense/may form
crash inward/explosion
black hole
•
Dwarf Stage (final stages)
•
fusion slows, cooling occurs
•
gravity causes collapse inward
•
may become black dwarf-
•
burned out w/no visible light
•Supernova
•Death of a star
Supernova
atoms found on
Earth--such as gold,
uranium, and many
essential to life-were created in a
nearby supernova
Black Hole
• So dense
• its gravity is so strong- nothing can
escape
• even light
• No real evidence they exist
• only study the effects
• High mass stars are believed to form
black holes when they collapse
The Milky Way
Galaxy
•
comes from observing the orbit of a star near
the galaxy's center.
•
•
Earth and the solar system are in a galaxy
called the Milky Way.
•
It might contain as many as one trillion stars
You can see the brightest part of the Milky
Way if you look low in the southern sky on a
moonless summer night.
•
Like many other galaxies, the Milky Way has a
super-massive black hole at its center.
•
This black hole might be more than 2.5
millions times as massive as the Sun.
Evidence for the existence of the black hole
Additional evidence includes X-ray emissions
detected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
•
Countless other galaxies also exist.
The Milky Way Galaxy
A giant disk of more than 100
billion stars 160,000 light-years
across and 1,000 light-years
thick.
The Sun is 30,000 light-years from
the center
It takes 250 Million years for the
Sun to complete one orbit
The Spiral arms are the locations of
new star formation
The Solar System
8 planets, dozens of moons, 100s of
dwarf planets, 100,000s of asteroids,
trillions of comets and meteoroids, …?
Mostly distributed in a disk about the
Sun
Sun blows a wind of charged gas into
space: the Solar Wind
Boundary between Solar Wind and
interstellar space 100 AU from the Sun
Size of the Solar
System
Video of solar system scale.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY_NfuZlF
xc
•
•
•
•
•
Earth is
about 150,000,000 km from the Sun.
This distance is referred to as
1 astronomical unit or 1 AU.
used to measure distances between objects within the solar system.
The significance of a phenomenon is dependent on the scale, proportion, and quantity at
which it occurs. (HS-ESS1-1)
The Sun—An Average Star
• Sunspots
• Areas of the Sun's surface that
•
The Prominences and Flares
•
intense magnetic fields associated with
appear dark because they are cooler
than surrounding areas are called
sunspots might cause prominences, which are
sunspots
• Using the movement of individual
huge, arching columns of gas.
•
Sun into space at speeds ranging from 600
sunspots they found that the Sun
rotates.
km/s to more than 1,000 km/s.
•
• Sunspot maximums occur about
every 10 to 11 years.
Some prominences blast material from the
Gases near a sunspot sometimes brighten
suddenly, shooting outward at high speed.
•
These violent eruptions are called solar flares.
Sun
Very active w/
• Prominences & solar flares
are solar storms caused by
changes in magnetic field of
sun is changing and
sun
will burn out over a
• (like bar magnet)
•
• The star called the
lifespan of
Suns magnetic poles switch
approximately 10
about every 11 years
billion years.
• Compare inner & outer
planets
CMEs
•
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) occur
when large amounts of electricallycharged gas are ejected suddenly
from the Sun's corona.
•
CMEs can damage satellites in orbit
around Earth.
•
•
•
They also can interfere with radio and
power distribution equipment
High energy particles contained in
CMEs and the solar wind are carried
past Earth's magnetic field.
This generates electric currents that
flow toward Earth's poles.
•
•
•
CMEs often cause auroras
These electric currents ionize gases in
Earth's atmosphere
When these ions recombine with
electrons, they produce the light of an
aurora
Space Weather & Generating Energy
• Mass can be converted into energy.
• This was stated as the famous equation E=mc2.
• In this equation, E is the energy produced, m is
the mass, and c is the speed of light.
• The small amount of mass "lost" when hydrogen
atoms fuse to form a helium atom is converted to
large amount of energy
• Nuclear Fusion processes in the center of the sun
release the energy that ultimately reaches Earth
as radiation.
The sun’s radiation varies due to sudden solar flares
(“space weather”), the 11-year sunspot cycle, and noncyclic variations over centuries
• It takes from 1 – 5 days for
a CME aimed in our
direction to reach Earth.
• The solar wind, solar flares,
and CMEs bring an increase
in radiation to astronauts and
electronics in space.
• The sudden increase in
power can damage sensitive
electronic equipment. Power
transformers can overload,
causing long-lasting
blackouts
•
The 11-year
sunspot
cycle
Changes in the sun’s intensity have
influenced Earth’s climate in the past
and appear to be the primary cause
of past cycles of ice ages, as well as
shorter interglacial periods (periods
between ice ages) of relatively
warmer temperatures..
• can affect the intensity of the sunlight
that reaches Earth’s surface.
• can cause either warming or cooling.
• The sun follows a natural 11-year cycle
of small ups and downs in intensity
• The effect on Earth’s climate is small.?
•
Low solar activity between 1645 to
1715 may have caused the so-called
“Little Ice Age” between the 17th and
19th centuries
Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion
of orbiting objects in the solar system.
•
Kepler’s laws describe common features of the
•
motions of orbiting objects, including their elliptical
paths around the sun. Orbits may change due to the
gravitational effects from, or collisions with, other
objects in the solar system.
•
Newtonian gravitational laws govern orbital motions,
which apply to human-made satellites as well as
planets and moons.
•
The force of gravity on Earth is the resultant
(vector sum) of two forces:
•
(a) The gravitational attraction in accordance with
Newton's universal law of gravitation,
•
(b) inertia- movement will not change unless acted
on by outside force
Newton's law of gravity
•
accounts for the detailed information we have about the planets in
our solar system, the mass of the Sun, the distance to
stars, quasars and even the theory of dark matter.
• Although we have not traveled to all the planets nor to the Sun, we
know their masses. These masses are obtained by applying the laws
of gravity to the measured characteristics of the orbit.
• In space an object maintains its orbit because of the force of gravity
acting upon it. Planets orbit stars, stars orbit Galactic Centers,
Galaxies orbit a center of mass in clusters, and clusters orbit in
superclusters.
• The force of gravity exerted on one object by another is directly
proportional to the product of those objects' masses and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them.
reconstruct the early history of
Earth.
• The earth formed along with the rest of the solar
system 4.6 billion years ago.
• Examples of evidence include the
o absolute ages of ancient materials (obtained by
radiometric dating of meteorites, moon rocks
 Continental rocks, which can be older than 4 billion years, are
generally much older than the rocks of the ocean floor, which
are less than 200 million years old.
 Spontaneous radioactive decays follow a characteristic
exponential decay law. Nuclear lifetimes allow radiometric
dating to be used to determine the ages of rocks and other
materials
o compositions of solar system objects
 objects in the solar system, such as lunar rocks, asteroids, and
meteorites, have changed little over billions of years and can
provide information about Earth’s formation and early history.
o Impact cratering record of planetary surfaces.
Moon Formation
At present, the giant impact hypothesis seems to be
the best model to fit the scientific evidence for how
the moon was created
Giant Impact - Collision Theory –
According to the giant impact hypothesis, a bodies that never made it to full planetary status from the leftover cloud of
dust and gas orbiting the young sun crashed into Earth not long after the young planet was created. Known as Theia, the
Mars-size body collided with Earth, throwing vaporized chunks of the young planet's crust into space, creating a moon that
is the largest in the solar system in relation to its host planet. This would explain why the moon is less dense than Earth —
the material that formed it came from the crust, while leaving the planet's rocky core untouched.
Co-formation theory
Moons can also form at the same time as their parent planet. Gravity would have caused material in the
early solar system to draw together and would have a very similar composition to the planet. This would
explain the moon's present location. However, the moon is much less dense than our planet, which would
likely not be the case if both started with the same heavy elements at their core.
Capture theory
Perhaps Earth's gravity snagged a passing body, as happened with other moons in the solar system, such as
the Martian moons of Phobos and Deimos.. A rocky body formed elsewhere in the solar system could have
been drawn into orbit around the Earth. This theory would explain the differences in the composition of the
Earth and its moon. However, such orbiters are often oddly shaped, rather than being spherical bodies like
the moon. Their paths don't tend to line up with the ecliptic of their parent planet, also unlike the moon.
Early history of Earth
formed along with the rest of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago.
Examples of evidence of Earth’s formation and early history include the
1. Impact cratering record of planetary surfaces.] Impact craters are the remains of
collisions between an asteroid ormeteorite and a planet or moon.
2. Active geologic processes, such as plate tectonics and erosion, have destroyed or
altered most of the very early rock record on Earth
3. Other objects in the solar system, such as lunar rocks, asteroids, and meteorites,
have changed little over billions of years. Studying these objects can provide
information about Earth’s formation and early history.
4. Giant Impact Video http://www.space.com/19275-moon-formation.html
Examples of evidence of Earth’s formation and early history
include the Absolute Ages
1.
absolute ages involves the radiometric dating of meteorites, moon rocks, & Earth’s oldest
minerals).
2.
The far side of the moon is rougher than seen from this side due to impact craters. We never see
the back side of the moon since one side always faces us.
3.
Spontaneous radioactive decays follow a characteristic exponential decay law. Nuclear lifetimes
•
allow radiometric dating to be used to determine the ages of rocks and other materials.
So far, oldest dated Earth rocks are 3.96 billion years.
•
Older rocks include meteorites and moon rocks, where Moon rocks from the Lunar highland are
about 4.5 billion years old
•
mare basalt rocks are 3.2 - 3.8 billion years old.
•
Meteorites are all older than 4.5 billion years.
•
http://bwbearthenviro2011.wikispaces.com/Homework+Due+Monday+29th+Oct
Milky way collision
Year vs. day
• Period of
revolution• time it takes a
planet to
complete 1
revolution= 1 yr
• One rotation on
axis
• = 1 day on planet
Europe Takes Aim at Space Junk
Menace
• – March 6, 2013
•
There are about 600,000 objects larger than 1 cm (0.39
inches) and at least 16,000 larger than 10 cm (3.9
inches).
• Space junk is man-made debris
— spent rocket stages, dead
satellites and even lost
spacewalker tools — orbiting
Earth which pose a risk to
orbiting satellites, which even
a small piece of space trash
could damage or destroy.
• . The European Union has
launched a new program to
tackle the threat of space junk
•
March 2014
3D Printers Could Build Futuristic
Moon Colony
• The European Space Agency
• Feb 2, 2013
(ESA) study is investigating
how practical constructing a
manned base on the moon
only using 3D printing
technology could be, given
that it would rely primarily
on lunar dirt for building
materials
Warp Drive
•
warp drive would require a minimum amount of
By Clara Moskowitz | SPACE.com –
September 17, 2012
http://news.yahoo.com/warp-drive-maymore-feasible-thought-scientists161301109.html
•
Warping space-time
•
An Alcubierre warp drive would involve a football-shape
energy about equal to the mass-energy of the
planet Jupiter. But recently White calculated what
would happen if the shape of the ring encircling the
spacecraft was adjusted into more of a rounded
donut, as opposed to a flat ring. He found in that
spacecraft attached to a large ring encircling it. This ring,
case, the warp drive could be powered by a mass
potentially made of exotic matter, would cause space-time to
about the size of a spacecraft like the Voyager 1
warp around the starship, creating a region of contracted space
probe NASA launched in 1977. Furthermore, if the
in front of it and expanded space behind. [Star Trek's Warp
intensity of the space warps can be oscillated over
Drive: Are We There Yet? | Video] Meanwhile, the starship
time, the energy required is reduced even more,
itself would stay inside a bubble of flat space-time that wasn't
White found. "The findings I presented today
being warped at all. "Everything within space is restricted by
change it from impractical to plausible and worth
the speed of light," explained Richard Obousy, president of
further investigation," White told SPACE.com. "The
Icarus Interstellar, a non-profit group of scientists and
additional energy reduction realized by oscillating
engineers devoted to pursuing interstellar spaceflight. "But the
the bubble intensity is an interesting conjecture
really cool thing is space-time, the fabric of space, is not limited
that we will enjoy looking at in the lab.“
by the speed of light." With this concept, the spacecraft would
be able to achieve an effective speed of about 10 times the
speed of light, all without breaking the cosmic speed limit.
The only problem is, previous studies estimated the
•
Laboratory tests White and his colleagues have
begun experimenting with a mini version of the
warp drive in their laboratory.
Mystery of Moon's Magnetic Field Deepens
By Charles Q. Choi | SPACE.com – Sat, May 18, 2013
• The moon generated a surprisingly intense magnetic
field until at least 3.56 billion years ago, 160 million
years longer than previously thought, a new study
reports. These findings could shed light not just on the
magnetic field of the moon, which is now extremely
weak, but on that of asteroids and other distant
worlds, investigators added. Earth's magnetic field is
created by its internal dynamo, which itself is
generated by the planet's churning molten metal core.
Research increasingly suggests that the moon once had
a dynamo as well, with evidence of magnetism found
in lunar rocks returned by Apollo astronauts.
Mysterious Energy Ribbon at Solar System's Edge a 'Cosmic Roadmap'
By by Elizabeth Howell, SPACE.com Contributor February 13, 2014
• Cosmic ray intensities (left) compared with predictions (right) from
NASA's IBEX spacecraft. The …
• A strange ribbon of energy and particles at the edge of the solar
system first spotted by a NASA spacecraft appears to serve as a sort
of "roadmap in the sky" for the interstellar magnetic field, scientists
say. By comparing ground-based studies and in-space observations
of solar system's mysterious energy ribbon, which was first
discovered by NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) in 2009,
scientists are learning more details about the conditions at the solar
system's edge. The study also sheds light into the sun's
environment protects the solar system from high-energy cosmic
rays. "What I always have been trying to do was to establish a clear
connection between the very high-energy cosmic rays we're seeing
[from the ground] and what IBEX is seeing," study leader Nathan
Schwadron, a physicist at the University of New Hampshire, told
Space.com.
Monster Black Hole Burp Surprises Scientists
By Tia Ghose, LiveScience SPACE.com –
A massive outburst erupts from …
•
•
•
•
•
•
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Astronomers have discovered what appears to be colossal belch from a
massive black hole at the heart of a distant galaxy. The outburst was 10 times as bright as the
biggest star explosion, scientists say.
The potential super-sized black hole burp find came as astronomers studied the galaxy NGC 660,
which is located 44 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces.
"The discovery was entirely serendipitous. Our observations were spread over a few years, and
when we looked at them, we found that one galaxy had changed over that time from being placid
and quiescent to undergone a hugely energetic outburst at the end," study researcher Robert
Minchin of Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico said in a statement.
Instead of an expanding ring of material suggesting a supernova event, the researchers found five
locations with bright radio emissions clustered around the galaxy's core. "The most likely
explanation is that there are jets coming from the core, but they are precessing, or wobbling, and
the hot spots we see are where the jets slammed into the material near the galaxy's nucleus.
Those jets would mean the outburst likely came from a supermassive black hole at the heart of
galaxy NGC 660. As the black hole devours dust and mass, it pulls a whirling disk of matter into its
heart that spews jets of particles as it is consumed.
Supermassive black holes are colossal structures at the cores of galaxies that are between millions
and billions of times as massive as the sun. They are much larger than stellar-mass black holes,
which are created from the deaths of giant stars and can contain the mass of about 10 suns.