Ricardo Giacconi, the founder of X-ray astronomy, dies
Ricardo Giacconi, known as the founder of X-ray astronomy, died on Sunday 9th of December at the age of 87.
Supermassive Black Holes: Environment and Evolution, Corfu, 19-22 June 2019
The X-ray group of IAASARS at NOA, organises a conference in Corfu, Greece, in 19-22 June 2019. The title of the conference is: “Supermassive Black Holes: Environment and Evolution”
An orphan Gamma Ray Burst
Astronomers detected a Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) candidate that its gamma rays were not detected by our telescopes!!
It is now confirmed: Our Galaxy hosts a supermassive black hole!
Credit: ESO Astronomers detected flares of infrared radiation coming from Sagittarius A*, the massive object at the heart of our Galaxy, This observation confirms that Sagittarius A* is indeed a supermassive black hole (SMBH)!! The flares were detected using the Read More …
INAF Rome press release for the ATHENA meeting
Here are various links with Facebook plus interview from the INAF Rome press release about the ATHENA meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBYl-DDd1RQhttp://www.inaf.it/it/notizie-inaf/esplorando-l2019universo-caldo-ed-energeticohttp://www.astropa.inaf.it/en/losservatorio-astronomico-di-palermo-ospita-la-conferenza-exploring-the-hot-and-energetic-universe-dedicato-allathena-x-ray-observatory/https://www.facebook.com/AthenaConferencePalermo/videos/167992044083219/https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiZ2OHh8o_eAhVBqCwKHfvrAaEQFjACegQICBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FAthenaConferencePalermo%2F&usg=AOvVaw2AYuvb7NwJKCyDo6YY1_yu
Strong magnetic fields affect how supermassive black holes are fed.
Many studies try to shed light on the origin of AGN obscuration. In a recent work, astronomers observed Cygnus-A, a radio galaxy about 750 million light-years from us that hosts a supermassive black hole (SMBH) which generates massive jets. These jets extent to about 150,000 light years. Their analysis reveals the presence of a strong magnetic field that regulates the feeding of the SMBH.