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Black holes May be ‘Building’ Their Own Host Galaxies
The ‘chicken and egg’ question of whether a galaxy or its black hole comes first is one of the most debated subjects in astrophysics. A recent study suggested that supermassive black holes can trigger the formation of stars, thus ‘building’ their own host galaxies. This could be the long-sought missing link to understanding why the masses of black holes are larger in galaxies that contain more stars. To reach such an extraordinary conclusion, the team of astronomers conducted extensive observations of a peculiar object, the nearby quasar HE0450-2958, which is the only one for which a host galaxy has not yet been detected. HE0450-2958 is located some 5 billion light-years away. Read the rest of this entry »
Super Earths Could be Superior to The Earth When It Comes to Sustaining Life
Posted by wideant in Space Exploration on December 13, 2009
Super earths have mass range from about 2 to 10 Earth. Astronomers have discovered a handful of these planets in our galaxy and missions like the Kepler space telescope, launched just this year, could help astronomers find many Earth-like planets in the years to come. Dimitar Sasselov, professor of astronomy at Harvard University, coined the term “Super-Earths” to reflect their mass rather than any superior qualities. Super earths could be superior to the Earth when it comes to sustaining life. This finding gives hope to astrobiologists, who think we are more likely to find life on rocky planets with liquid water. Read the rest of this entry »
