'Death Spiral' Around Cygnus XR-1
Depicts: Cygnus XR-1
Copyright: Ann Feild (STScI)
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The Hubble telescope may have, for the first time, provided direct evidence for the existence of black holes by observing how matter
disappears when it falls beyond the "event horizon", the boundary between a black hole and the outside universe. Astronomers found
their evidence by watching the fading and disappearance of pulses of ultraviolet light from clumps of hot gas swirling around a massive,
compact object called Cygnus XR-1. This activity suggests that the hot gas fell into a black hole.
Last Update: 1 September 2019