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Ring Around the Black HoleRegardless of size, black holes easily acquire accretion disks. Supermassive black holes can feast on the bountiful interstellar gas in galactic nuclei. Small black holes formed from collapsing stars often belong to binary systems in which a bulging companion star can spill some of its gas into the black hole s reach. In the chaotic mess of the accretion disk, atoms collide with one another. Swirling plasma reaches speeds upward of 10% that of light and glows brightly in many wavebands, particularly in X-rays. Gas gets blown back by a wind of radiation from the inner disk. New material enters the disks from different directions.
Document ID
20040010582
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Other
Authors
Wanjek, Christopher
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2003
Publication Information
Publication: Space Science Reference Guide, 2nd Edition
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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