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How can black holes be detected?
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As a black hole and its companion star rotate around each other, the gas from the star is funnelled by the force of gravity into a disc around the black hole. The gas molecules in the disc swirl around the black hole so fast that they heat up and emit X-rays. These X-rays can be detected from Earth. | | The black hole Cygnus X-1 (1) is orbiting a blue super-giant star (2), which it is slowly pulling apart. As the star spirals down onto the black hole, it forms an incredibly hot disc around it. |
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Previous:
Back
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Book:
1001
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Section:
Space
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Chapter:
Mysteries of Space
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