Science probe reeled in
NZPA-Reuter Cape Canaveral The space shuttle Discovery stretched out its long robot arm yesterday and reeled in a science satellite that had been scanning the Milky Way for clues of a star-gobbling “black hole.” Shuttle astronauts had released the Spartan science satellite only two days earlier, leaving it to train its powerful X-ray telescope on ah area of intense radiation 30,000 light-years away. Scientists have long suspected that the source of that radiation was an invisible black hole of densely packed matter, devouring stars, planets, and cosmic dust and gas at an incredible rate.
After Discovery’s return to Earth tomorrow United States Navy scientists will dismantle the experiment package and analyse the data.
What they hope to fine is conclusive evidence of a
black hole believed to be lurking at the centre of the Milky Way, a galaxy of 400 billion stars, including the Earth.
A new scientific study — published last month in the British journal “Nature” — provided the most precise measurement yet of the suspected black hole. Astronomers, using infra-red detection and radio waves, estimated its area at four million times the mass of the sun. Black holes are created when huge stars exhaust their nuclear fuel and collapse violently, experts say. The remains of the burnedout stars are so tightly packed that not even light can escape its gravitational grip.
During its 45-hour mission Spartan also tried to pick up clues on radiation emission from a cluster of galaxies in the Perseus constellation, 300 million light-years from Earth.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19850624.2.55.10
Bibliographic details
Press, 24 June 1985, Page 6
Word Count
254Science probe reeled in Press, 24 June 1985, Page 6
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Copyright in all Footrot Flats cartoons is owned by Diogenes Designs Ltd. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise these cartoons and make them available online as part of this digitised version of the Press. You can search, browse, and print Footrot Flats cartoons for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Diogenes Designs Ltd for any other use.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.