NASA may have found Milky Way’s newest black hole

NASA has stated that it might have found the Milky Way’s youngest black hole in the remnants of an exploding star. Although it isn’t entirely certain this is the case, saying that the evidence is “a bit circumstantial”, all signs point to such a reality, giving researchers the opportunity to study the creation of a black hole from a supernova.

black hole

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory made the discovery in the remnants of W49B, a thousand-year-old supernova located approximately 26,000 light years away. Unlike most stars that collapse, exploding outwards in a symmetrical fashion, the W49B appears to have exploded along its poles, creating an asymmetrical explosion.

The remnants of this explosion can be observed in wavelengths and x-rays, which shows the evidence indicating an asymmetrical explosion. One of its most interesting realities, however, is its lack of a neutron star. Typically, the by-product of a supernova is a spinning core referred to as a neutron star, which researchers can find using several different means.

When searching for W49B’s neutron star, however, they were presented with nothing, indicating the existence of a black hole. If this turns out to be the case, it will be a rare find for astronomers, and will provide an excellent chance for research into the creation of a black hole from a supernova. Says Daniel Castro, one of the co-authors of the project, stated: “It’s a bit circumstantial, but we have intriguing evidence the W49B supernova also created a black hole. If that is the case, we have a rare opportunity to study a supernova responsible for creating a young black hole.”

[via NASA]


NASA may have found Milky Way’s newest black hole is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
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ASUS ET2012AUTB All-In-One Desktop PC

ASUS-ET2012AUTB-All-In-One-Desktop-PC

ASUS is gearing up to launch another all-in-one desktop PC namely the ET2012AUTB. This space-saving system will feature a 20-inch 1600 x 900 LED-backlight multi-touch TFT LCD display, a 1.70GHz AMD E2-1800 APU dual-core processor, an AMD Radeon HD 7340 graphics card, a 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a DVD Super Multi Drive, a card reader, WiFi and run on either Windows 7 Professional 32-bit or 7 Home Premium 32-bit OS. The ET2012AUTB will start shipping from mid-February for unannounced price yet. [ASUS]

Dick Cheney Reflects On Biggest Fault: ‘I Don’t Spend A Lot Of Time Thinking About’ Those (VIDEO)

If former Vice President Dick Cheney has faults, he hasn’t made himself aware of them.

In a trailer released Wednesday teasing an upcoming Showtime documentary about Cheney’s life, the controversial former veep answers a number of personal questions, including, “What do you consider your main fault?”

After a lengthy deliberation, Cheney proves unable to put his finger on anything.

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Western Digital My Book AV-TV USB 3.0 External Hard Drives

Western-Digital-My-Book-AV-TV-USB-3.0-External-Hard-Drive

Western Digital has introduced a new line of USB 3.0 external hard drives, the My Book AV-TV. Available in both 1TB and 2TB capacities, this plug and play hard drives come with a fanless enclosure, a USB 3.0 connection interface and TV recording support (corresponds to the continuous operation of 24 hours a day, 365 days a year). The My Book AV-TV will hit the market soon, prices unannounced. [Western Digital]

State Of The Union: Republicans Praise Obama On Energy, Immigration

WASHINGTON — Despite Republican criticism of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, some GOP lawmakers offered rare praise for some aspects of the president’s speech, including his emphasis on energy independence and the need for comprehensive immigration reform.

“When I hear him talk about the big idea of energy independence, I get excited about that,” said Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). “I’m not sure he’s really talking about it — I hope he is — but we now know we can be energy independent, and the key to doing that right now would be natural gas.”

Obama on Tuesday repeatedly underscored his commitment to achieving energy independence. He stated his administration’s support for “cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits.”

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Jeremiah McKay Dead: San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Allegedly Killed By Chris Dorner

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San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon identified the deputy Wednesday as Jeremiah MacKay, a man who grew up in the area and followed his father into public service.

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Obama’s Middle Class Priorities Complicated By Looming Fights Over Deficit

In terms of rhetoric, President Obama’s latest State of the Union address offered an ambitious call to action, aiming for no less than the restoration of middle-class security for millions of Americans who have grown accustomed to sliding toward poverty.

“No one who works full-time should have to live in poverty,” Obama said in one of his signature lines of the evening, arguing in essence that a paycheck ought to be enough to deliver a family basic goods such as housing, medical care and ample groceries.

In a bid to achieve that goal, Obama proposed raising the federal minimum wage, along with a series of initiatives aimed at spurring job creation. But if his stated plans resonated as bold, the details of Obama’s prescription left many economists skeptical that his administration is in any position to deliver.

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Obama To Address Gun Violence At Chicago High School

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The White House says Obama will speak Friday afternoon at Hyde Park Academy. The visit comes days after first lady Michelle Obama sat next to the parents of Hadiya (hy-DEE’-uh) Pendleton during the president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.

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Dell UltraSharp U3014 30-Inch LCD Monitor

Dell-UltraSharp-U3014-30-Inch-LCD-Monitor

Dell has come out with another LCD monitor, the UltraSharp U3014. Adopting the PremierColor technology for true-to life, accurate, customizable colors that cover industry standards, this new 30-inch LCD monitor supports a native resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels and provides a 16:10 aspect ratio which is suitable for the fine level of detail required for color-critical work such as CAD/CAM, graphic design, desktop publishing, gaming or media creation. The UltraSharp U3014 will be available soon worldwide starting from $1,499. [Dell]

Microsoft CFO Hints At Smaller Tablet design

Microsoft CFO Hints At Smaller Tablet design

Microsoft CFO Peter Klein, while addressing a Q&A session today, informed attendees that Microsoft is ready to handle tablets of various sizes. “We’ve done a lot of the hard work in the developer platform,” Klein said. “We are well set up to respond to demand as we see it. I think we’re really set up to deliver the most versatile set of experiences across form factors, whether that’s 4-inch, 5-inch, 7-inch, 8-inch, 10-inch, 13-inch. And along with our partners in the ecosystem, we’ll work through that based on underlying demand.” (more…)

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