APOD: Unusual Signal Suggests Neutron Star... (2019 Sep 03)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
Post Reply
User avatar
APOD Robot
Otto Posterman
Posts: 5344
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:27 am
Contact:

APOD: Unusual Signal Suggests Neutron Star... (2019 Sep 03)

Post by APOD Robot » Tue Sep 03, 2019 4:06 am

Image Unusual Signal Suggests Neutron Star Destroyed by Black Hole

Explanation: What created this unusual explosion? Three weeks ago, gravitational wave detectors in the USA and Europe -- the LIGO and Virgo detectors -- detected a burst of gravitational radiation that had the oscillating pattern expected when a black hole destroys a neutron star. One object in event S190814bv was best fit with a mass greater than five times the mass of the Sun -- making it a good candidate for a black hole, while the other object appeared to have a mass less than three times the mass of the Sun -- making it a good candidate for a neutron star. No similar event had been detected with gravitational waves before. Unfortunately, no light was seen from this explosion, light that might have been triggered by the disrupting neutron star. It is theoretically possible that the lower mass object was also a black hole, even though no clear example of a black hole with such a low mass is known. The featured video was created to illustrate a previously suspected black hole - neutron star collision detected in light in 2005, specifically gamma-rays from the burst GRB 050724. The animated video starts with a foreground neutron star orbiting a black hole surrounded by an accretion disk. The black hole's gravity then shreds the neutron star, creating a jet as debris falls into the black hole. S190814bv will continue to be researched, with clues about the nature of the objects involved possibly coming from future detections of similar systems.

<< Previous APOD This Day in APOD Next APOD >>

Boomer12k
:---[===] *
Posts: 2691
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:07 am

Re: APOD: Unusual Signal Suggests Neutron Star... (2019 Sep 03)

Post by Boomer12k » Tue Sep 03, 2019 10:21 am

Well, I hope the research bears this out...

:---[===] *

User avatar
orin stepanek
Plutopian
Posts: 8200
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:41 pm
Location: Nebraska

Re: APOD: Unusual Signal Suggests Neutron Star... (2019 Sep 03)

Post by orin stepanek » Tue Sep 03, 2019 11:46 am

:shock: Whatever, I'm glad I'm at a safe distance! :lol2:
Orin

Smile today; tomorrow's another day!

User avatar
RJN
Baffled Boffin
Posts: 1667
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2004 1:58 pm
Location: Michigan Tech

Re: APOD: Unusual Signal Suggests Neutron Star... (2019 Sep 03)

Post by RJN » Tue Sep 03, 2019 1:28 pm

The event name was typed incorrectly. The name S190814sv has now been corrected to S190814bv on the main NASA APOD. I apologize for the oversight.
- RJN

User avatar
Ann
4725 Å
Posts: 13369
Joined: Sat May 29, 2010 5:33 am

Re: APOD: Unusual Signal Suggests Neutron Star... (2019 Sep 03)

Post by Ann » Tue Sep 03, 2019 3:16 pm

On a different note... :wink:

The Fly (IC 417, center), and the Spider (NGC 1931, right).
Photo: Bill Jones Astrophotography.
APOD Robot wrote:

Tomorrow's picture: spider vs fly
:wink:

Ann

Edit: It appears that it is the Fly that was rewarded with the illustrious NGC designation while the Spider was stuck with the lowlier IC number.

I apologize for the oversight.
Last edited by Ann on Wed Sep 04, 2019 6:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
Color Commentator

User avatar
bystander
Apathetic Retiree
Posts: 21571
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:06 pm
Location: Oklahoma

Re: APOD: Unusual Signal Suggests Neutron Star... (2019 Sep 03)

Post by bystander » Tue Sep 03, 2019 3:36 pm

Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
— Garrison Keillor

Boomer12k
:---[===] *
Posts: 2691
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:07 am

Re: APOD: Unusual Signal Suggests Neutron Star... (2019 Sep 03)

Post by Boomer12k » Tue Sep 03, 2019 11:28 pm

Ann wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 3:16 pm On a different note... :wink:

The Fly (IC 417, center), and the Spider (NGC 1931, right).
Photo: Bill Jones Astrophotography.
APOD Robot wrote:

Tomorrow's picture: spider vs fly
:wink:

Ann
Looks more like an ANT to me... it has Antennae...left top of head...
So maybe "Ant and FLEA" nebula...

but looking forward to it...
:---[===] *

Post Reply