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NASA NTRS ยท 19780021057

Unusual satellite data: A black hole?

Abstract

Data obtained by the NASA-launched European Space Agency's International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite suggests the possibility of a massive black hole at the center of some globular clusters (star groups) in our galaxy. Six of these clusters, three of them X-ray sources, were closely examined. Onboard short wavelength UV instrumentation penetrated the background denseness of the clusters 15,000 light years away where radiation, probably from a group of 10 to 20 bright blue stars orbiting the core, was observed. The stars may well be orbiting a massive black hole the size of 1,000 solar systems. The existence of the black hole is uncertain. The dynamics of the stars must be studied first to determine how they rotate in relation to the center of the million-star cluster. This may better indicate what provides the necessary gravitational pull that holds them in orbit.

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BibTeXRIS

1978-08-08. Unusual satellite data: A black hole?. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19780021057

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