超大黑洞引力无穷 恒星不幸惨遭分身
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2007-02-07 02:11 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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Black hole seen ripping star apart

Two space observatories1 have provided the first strong evidence of a supermassive black hole stretching, tearing apart and partially2 gobbling up a star flung into reach of its enormous gravity, astronomers3 said.

The event had long been predicted by theory but never confirmed.

A powerful X-ray blast drew the attention of astronomers to the event, located near the center of a galaxy4 about 700 million light-years from Earth. The international team of astronomers believe gases from the star, heated to multimillion-degree temperatures as they fell toward the black hole near the heart of galaxy RX J1242-11, produced the blast.

Astronomers said a star about the size of our sun neared the black hole after veering5 off course following a close encounter with another star. The tremendous gravity of the black hole, estimated to have a mass 100 million times that of our sun, then stretched the star to the point of breaking.

"This is the ultimate David versus6 Goliath battle, but here David loses," said Gunther Hasinger, of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany.

The effect is the same that the tug7 of the moon has on the Earth's oceans, but with much more violent results. The black hole consumed an estimated 1 percent of the doomed8 star, flinging the rest out into space.

"This unlucky star just wandered into the wrong neighborhood," said Stefanie Komossa, also of the Max Planck Institute.

Astronomers used NASA's Chandra and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-ray observatories to capture the event. Similar events are estimated to occur just once every 10,000 years in a typical galaxy.

Astronomers have seen other similar X-ray blasts before, but never were able to pinpoint9 them at the center of a galaxy, where black holes lurk10. The new observations also revealed the characteristic X-ray signature expected of the surroundings of a black hole.

The blast first was seen in 1992 and remains11 visible as it fades, said Chandra press scientist Peter Edmonds, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.


天文学家说两个太空了望台首次提供有力的证据,证明了超级巨大黑洞的存在,恒星闯入黑洞强大的引力场里就被它拉伸、撕裂甚至部分吞噬。

很久以前就有理论推测会发生这种情况,但是从未得到过证实。

强烈的X射线爆炸引起天文学家们的注意,它发生在到离地球大约7亿光年的星系中心附近。国际天文学家小组认为恒星释放的气体造成了这次爆炸,当气体靠近RX J1242-11星系中心附近的黑洞时,它们的温度升高到几百万度。

天文学家们说和一个与太阳差不多大的恒星与另一颗恒“亲密接触”后偏离轨道而靠近黑洞。黑洞巨大的引力随后把恒星不断拉伸直到破裂,黑洞的引力估计是太阳引力的1亿倍。

“这是大卫和歌利亚的决战,但是这次大卫输了。”德国马普外层空间物理学院的贡特尔·哈辛格说。

黑洞对恒星的作用和月亮对地球上海洋的吸引作用一样,但是结果要猛烈的多。黑洞大约吞噬了这颗“倒霉的”恒星的百分之一,剩余的部分被抛向宇宙空间。

马普学院的同仁斯特凡尼·科莫萨说:“这颗不幸的恒星只是‘闲逛’时不小心走错了路。”

天文学家们利用美国国家航空航天局的钱德拉X射线天文台和欧洲航天局的XXM牛顿X射线天文台捕捉到了这一现象。类似的现象估计每1万年才会在一个典型的星系中发生一次。

天文学家们以前曾经看到过其他类似的X射线爆炸,但是从未能够确定爆炸发生在星系的中心,也就是黑洞潜伏的地方。新的观察结果同时显示,在黑洞周围发现了人们预想中可能存在的典型X射线的特征。

哈佛史密森天文物理中心、钱德拉X射线天文台新闻处的科学家彼得·埃德蒙兹说,1992年第一次观察到爆炸现象,尽管爆炸减弱了,但是一直可以看到。

rip apart: 把…撕开
gobble up: 吞并
off course: 离开规定的航线

《圣经》中说,在大卫还是个牧羊少年的时候,以色列人经常和非利士交战。非利士大将歌利亚头戴铜盔,身批铠甲,虎背熊腰,身高七尺,勇猛无比。大卫用弹石器打中了歌利亚的脑门,轻易赢得了战争,而这位迦特巨人却再也没有爬起来。



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 observatories d730b278442c711432218e89314e2a09     
n.天文台,气象台( observatory的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • John Heilbron, The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories, 3-23. 约翰.海耳布隆,《教会里的太阳:教堂即太阳观测台》,第3-23页。 来自互联网
  • Meteorologists use satellites, land observatories and historical data to provide information about the weather. 气象学家使用卫星、上天文台和历史资料来提供有关天气的信息。 来自互联网
2 partially yL7xm     
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲
参考例句:
  • The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
  • The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静,宵禁部分解除。
3 astronomers 569155f16962e086bd7de77deceefcbd     
n.天文学者,天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪,为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 galaxy OhoxB     
n.星系;银河系;一群(杰出或著名的人物)
参考例句:
  • The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
  • The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。
5 veering 7f532fbe9455c2b9628ab61aa01fbced     
n.改变的;犹豫的;顺时针方向转向;特指使船尾转向上风来改变航向v.(尤指交通工具)改变方向或路线( veer的现在分词 );(指谈话内容、人的行为或观点)突然改变;(指风) (在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向)逐渐转向;风向顺时针转
参考例句:
  • Anyone veering too close to the convoys risks being shot. 任何人改变方向,过于接近车队就有遭枪击的风险。 来自互联网
  • The little boat kept veering from its course in such a turbulent river. 小船在这湍急的河中总是改变方向。 来自互联网
6 versus wi7wU     
prep.以…为对手,对;与…相比之下
参考例句:
  • The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
  • The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。
7 tug 5KBzo     
v.用力拖(或拉);苦干;n.拖;苦干;拖船
参考例句:
  • We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
  • The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
8 doomed EuuzC1     
命定的
参考例句:
  • The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
  • A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。
9 pinpoint xNExL     
vt.准确地确定;用针标出…的精确位置
参考例句:
  • It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出,现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
  • I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。
10 lurk J8qz2     
n.潜伏,潜行;v.潜藏,潜伏,埋伏
参考例句:
  • Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
  • He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。
11 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
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