Mar 3, 2020 - Science

NASA spacecraft snaps a fortuitous shot of a black hole 30,000 light-years away

Miriam Kramer

Gif: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/MIT/Harvard

Sometimes the best photos are taken by accident. NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was exploring an asteroid not far from Earth when it unexpectedly caught sight of a black hole 30,000 light-years away.

What they found: OSIRIS-REx detected the black hole using an instrument designed to measure the effect solar particles are having on its target asteroid, Bennu.

The spacecraft was able to spot the black hole as it ate material from its companion star, causing the system to glow in X-ray light.
Japan's MAXI telescope first discovered the black hole system — named MAXI J0637-430 — in November 2019, with NASA's NICER also detecting the X-rays emitted by the binary not long after.

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NASA spacecraft snaps a fortuitous shot of a black hole 30,000 light-years away

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