FA+
Shop
The M51 black hole is located at the center of the Whirlpool Galaxy (Messier 51), a spiral galaxy about 31 million light-years away. It is a supermassive black hole, likely millions of times the mass of the Sun, residing in the galaxy’s core. Astronomers study it using X-ray and radio observations, often with telescopes like Chandra and Hubble, to understand how it feeds on surrounding gas and dust. In 2021, scientists discovered a strange X-ray burst near M51, possibly the first evidence of a planet orbiting a black hole, though this is still under investigation. M51 is often used as a model to study black hole-galaxy interactions due to its bright structure and face-on orientation.
117
Views
4
Comments
3
Favorites
General
Rating
Also this black hole is absolutely gorgeous, its amazing to see and know how large they can get. The whole physics behind them is terrifying and beautiful at the same time :)