Scientists from the University of Strasbourg, the Center for Radio Astronomy Research Australia (ICRAR) and the University of Louisiana have discovered a black hole that is swallowing a nearby star ten times faster than experts previously believed possible . The black hole, known as P13, is located on the outskirts of the galaxy NGC7793, about 12 million light years from Earth.
According to Roberto Soria, main author of the work, which has been published in Nature , another peculiar characteristic of this process is that, as the gas from the star is absorbed by the hole, it becomes increasingly hot and bright. .
In fact, scientists detected the existence of P13 because it was much more luminous than other black holes, and hence they initially thought that its luminosity was due to its large size.
“It is believed that the maximum speed at which a black hole can swallow gas and produce light is determined by its dimensions . So it was logical to assume that P13 was much larger than the ordinary, less bright black holes seen in the Via Láctea “, explained Soria, ICRAR researcher.
However, when experts measured the mass of P13, they found that it was actually smaller than expected, despite being a million times brighter than the Sun. That made them appreciate how much matter it was consuming. . ” In reality there is no limit to their voracity , as we thought before. Black holes can consume more gas and produce more light than we have imagined until now,” concludes Soria.
