NASA shares picture of Supermassive Black Hole Tsunami

Team Udayavani, Jul 5, 2021, 12:20 PM IST

NASA shared a post about how supermassive black holes can host ‘tsunamis’ of gas. They also shared an incredible illustration that looks like a scene from a sci-fi movie.

The opening lines of the post read, “A name fit for a sci-fi thriller: Supermassive Black Hole Tsunami,” further adding, “Astrophysicists have used computer simulations to show deep in space the gas escaping the gravitational pull of a supermassive black hole may form tsunami-like structures.”

Explaining how it happens, NASA wrote, “Just within the distance where the supermassive black hole loses its grip on the surrounding matter, the relatively cool atmosphere of the spinning disk can form waves, similar to the surface of the ocean. When interacting with HOT winds (which can be 10x hotter than the sun) these waves can steepen into spiraling vortex structures that can reach a height of 10 light-years above the disk.”

Talking about illustration shared, NASA said that it shows a” supermassive black hole veiled in dust,”

They concluded, “Stronger evidence may come from future missions, but until then, the researchers will continue improving their models and comparing them with available data, caught in the whirlwind of this mystery.”