X

Did explosion spawn Milky Way's youngest black hole? (pictures)

An oddly shaped supernova remnant may contain our galaxy's most recent -- and closest -- black hole.

James Martin
James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET. His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care. From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology. Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.
James Martin
w49b.jpeg
1 of 5 NSF/NRAO/VLA

Rare explosion spawns our galaxy's youngest black hole

This newly formed supernova remnant, called W49B, is only about a thousand years old as seen from Earth -- and located about 26,000 light-years away. Scientists believe that a black hole might have been created -- a mysterious, compact object whose gravitational pull is so strong that nothing can escape its pull, not even light.

When a massive star burns all of its fuel, the result is the collapse of the core, triggering a supernova explosion. Typically, these explosions are symmetrical, ejecting material evenly in all directions, and then collapsing into a dense neutron star core.

W49B, though, is different. There is no neutron star remaining, which implies the supernova may have instead resulted in the creation of a black hole -- one that is very close to Earth. Material near the poles of the star ejected much faster than the material from the equator in this case, NASA believes.

Supernova explosions are not particularly well-understood in the scientific community, which is why this one is so exciting. The close proximity to Earth is a good opportunity for more detailed study of these powerful cosmic events.

Read more about W49B here.
w49b_w44.jpeg
2 of 5 NSF/NRAO/VLA

Optical view of W49B

The optical view of W49B. There's evidence that W49B left behind a black hole -- not a neutron star like most other supernovas.

"W49B is the first of its kind to be discovered in the galaxy," said Laura Lopez, who led the study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It appears its parent star ended its life in a way that most others don't."

Read more about W49B here.
w49b_elements.jpeg
3 of 5 NASA

X-ray image of W49B

An X-ray image from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory showing W49B in purples and blues.

Read more about W49B here.
w49b_w55.jpeg
4 of 5 NSF/NRAO/VLA

Radio data from W49B

Radio data from the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array shows W49B in pink.

Read more about W49B here.
w49b_w22.jpeg
5 of 5 NSF/NRAO/VLA

Chandra X-ray image of W49B

A Chandra X-ray image of W49B showing the silicon in blue.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory is one of NASA's "Great Observatories" along with the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitizer Space Telescope, and the now deorbited Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.

Read more about W49B here.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos