{ "id": 13043, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13043/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "New Simulation Sheds Light on Spiraling Supermassive Black Holes", "description": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || SMBH_Sim_Still_1.jpg (1920x1080) [333.8 KB] || SMBH_Sim_Still_1_print.jpg (1024x576) [138.8 KB] || SMBH_Sim_Still_1_searchweb.png (320x180) [69.3 KB] || SMBH_Sim_Still_1_thm.png (80x40) [6.4 KB] || 13043_SMBH_Simulation_1080.webm (1920x1080) [17.4 MB] || 13043_SMBH_Simulation_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [202.8 MB] || SMBH_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [2.0 KB] || SMBH_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [1.9 KB] || 13043_SMBH_Simulation_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [2.0 GB] || ", "release_date": "2018-10-02T10:50:00-04:00", "update_date": "2024-08-14T22:44:41.842504-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 400952, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_Sim_Still_1.jpg", "filename": "SMBH_Sim_Still_1.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. \rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.\rComplete transcript available.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 }, "main_video": null, "main_credits": { "Produced by": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ], "Written by": [ { "name": "Jeanette Kazmierczak", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ], "Visualizations by": [ { "name": "Scott Noble", "employer": "USRA/U. Tulsa" } ], "Scientific consulting by": [ { "name": "Scott Noble", "employer": "USRA/U. Tulsa" } ] }, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 325315, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13043/#media_group_325315", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. \r

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018

Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer Tracks

Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.

\r

Complete transcript available.

", "items": [ { "id": 244100, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400952, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_Sim_Still_1.jpg", "filename": "SMBH_Sim_Still_1.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. \rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.\rComplete transcript available.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 244104, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400956, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_Sim_Still_1_print.jpg", "filename": "SMBH_Sim_Still_1_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. \rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.\rComplete transcript available.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 244105, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400957, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_Sim_Still_1_searchweb.png", "filename": "SMBH_Sim_Still_1_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. \rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.\rComplete transcript available.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 244106, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400958, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_Sim_Still_1_thm.png", "filename": "SMBH_Sim_Still_1_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. \rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.\rComplete transcript available.", "width": 80, "height": 40, "pixels": 3200 } }, { "id": 244098, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400954, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/13043_SMBH_Simulation_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov", "filename": "13043_SMBH_Simulation_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. \rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.\rComplete transcript available.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 244099, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400953, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/13043_SMBH_Simulation_1080.mp4", "filename": "13043_SMBH_Simulation_1080.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. \rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.\rComplete transcript available.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 244103, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400955, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/13043_SMBH_Simulation_1080.webm", "filename": "13043_SMBH_Simulation_1080.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. \rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.\rComplete transcript available.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 244101, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 850722, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt", "filename": "SMBH_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt", "media_type": "Captions", "alt_text": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. \rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.\rComplete transcript available.", "label": "English", "language_code": "" } }, { "id": 244102, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 850723, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt", "filename": "SMBH_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt", "media_type": "Captions", "alt_text": "Gas glows brightly in this computer simulation of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. Models like this may eventually help scientists pinpoint real examples of these powerful binary systems. \rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018Music: \"Games Show Sphere 01\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.\rComplete transcript available.", "label": "English", "language_code": "" } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 325314, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13043/#media_group_325314", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "A new model is bringing scientists a step closer to understanding the kinds of light signals produced when two supermassive black holes, which are millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun, spiral toward a collision. For the first time, a new computer simulation that fully incorporates the physical effects of Einstein’s general theory of relativity shows that gas in such systems will glow predominantly in ultraviolet and X-ray light. \r
\r
The new simulation shows three orbits of a pair of supermassive black holes only 40 orbits from merging. The models reveal the light emitted at this stage of the process may be dominated by UV light with some high-energy X-rays, similar to what’s seen in any galaxy with a well-fed supermassive black hole. \r
\r
Three regions of light-emitting gas glow as the black holes merge, all connected by streams of hot gas: a large ring encircling the entire system, called the circumbinary disk, and two smaller ones around each black hole, called mini disks. All these objects emit predominantly UV light. When gas flows into a mini disk at a high rate, the disk’s UV light interacts with each black hole’s corona, a region of high-energy subatomic particles above and below the disk. This interaction produces X-rays. When the accretion rate is lower, UV light dims relative to the X-rays. \r
\r
Based on the simulation, which ran on the National Center for Supercomputing Applications’ Blue Waters supercomputer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the researchers expect X-rays emitted by a near-merger will be brighter and more variable than X-rays seen from single supermassive black holes. The pace of the changes links to both the orbital speed of gas located at the inner edge of the circumbinary disk as well as that of the merging black holes.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 325316, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13043/#media_group_325316", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Same as above, without text overlay.

\r

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "items": [ { "id": 244107, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400961, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_Sim_Still_2.jpg", "filename": "SMBH_Sim_Still_2.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Same as above, without text overlay.\rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 244108, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400960, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/13043_SMBH_Simulation_NO_TEXT.mp4", "filename": "13043_SMBH_Simulation_NO_TEXT.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same as above, without text overlay.\rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 244109, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400959, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/FINAL-NO_TEXT_1.mov", "filename": "FINAL-NO_TEXT_1.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same as above, without text overlay.\rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 244110, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400962, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/13043_SMBH_Simulation_NO_TEXT.webm", "filename": "13043_SMBH_Simulation_NO_TEXT.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same as above, without text overlay.\rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 325317, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13043/#media_group_325317", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Same as above, trimmed and formated for Instagram. No text overlay.

\r

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "items": [ { "id": 244112, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400963, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/Instagram_Still.jpg", "filename": "Instagram_Still.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Same as above, trimmed and formated for Instagram. No text overlay.\rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "pixels": 1166400 } }, { "id": 244111, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400964, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_Simulation_INSTAGRAM.mp4", "filename": "SMBH_Simulation_INSTAGRAM.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same as above, trimmed and formated for Instagram. No text overlay.\rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "pixels": 1166400 } }, { "id": 244113, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400965, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_Simulation_INSTAGRAM.webm", "filename": "SMBH_Simulation_INSTAGRAM.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same as above, trimmed and formated for Instagram. No text overlay.\rCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "pixels": 1166400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 325318, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13043/#media_group_325318", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This animated gif rotates a frozen version of the simulation through 360 degrees as viewed from the plane of the disk.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "items": [ { "id": 244114, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400966, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_Infinite_Loop-rev.gif", "filename": "SMBH_Infinite_Loop-rev.gif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This animated gif rotates a frozen version of the simulation through 360 degrees as viewed from the plane of the disk.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "width": 800, "height": 460, "pixels": 368000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 325319, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13043/#media_group_325319", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This animated gif rotates a frozen version of the simulation through 180 degrees and then back, from directly above to directly below the plane of the disk.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "items": [ { "id": 244115, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400967, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBH_Sim_ThinTilt_Palindrome.gif", "filename": "SMBH_Sim_ThinTilt_Palindrome.gif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This animated gif rotates a frozen version of the simulation through 180 degrees and then back, from directly above to directly below the plane of the disk.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "width": 600, "height": 336, "pixels": 201600 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 325320, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13043/#media_group_325320", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system has a mass about 1 million times the Sun’s.

\r

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, ESA/Gaia/DPAC \r

Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.

", "items": [ { "id": 244119, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400970, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/sub-warped-gaia-000000.png", "filename": "sub-warped-gaia-000000.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system has a mass about 1 million times the Sun’s.\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, ESA/Gaia/DPAC \rWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } }, { "id": 244120, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400971, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/sub-warped-gaia-000000_print.jpg", "filename": "sub-warped-gaia-000000_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system has a mass about 1 million times the Sun’s.\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, ESA/Gaia/DPAC \rWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "width": 1024, "height": 512, "pixels": 524288 } }, { "id": 244116, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400968, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBHB_Gaia_Warp_ProRes_360_4096x2048_30.mov", "filename": "SMBHB_Gaia_Warp_ProRes_360_4096x2048_30.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system has a mass about 1 million times the Sun’s.\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, ESA/Gaia/DPAC \rWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } }, { "id": 244117, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400969, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/frames/4096x2048_2x1_30p/Gaia/", "filename": "Gaia", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system has a mass about 1 million times the Sun’s.\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, ESA/Gaia/DPAC \rWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } }, { "id": 244118, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400972, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBHB_Gaia_Warp_360_4096x2048_30.mp4", "filename": "SMBHB_Gaia_Warp_360_4096x2048_30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system has a mass about 1 million times the Sun’s.\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, ESA/Gaia/DPAC \rWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } }, { "id": 244121, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 850724, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBHB_Gaia_Warp_360_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt", "filename": "SMBHB_Gaia_Warp_360_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt", "media_type": "Captions", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system has a mass about 1 million times the Sun’s.\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, ESA/Gaia/DPAC \rWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "label": "English", "language_code": "" } }, { "id": 244122, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 850725, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBHB_Gaia_Warp_360_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt", "filename": "SMBHB_Gaia_Warp_360_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt", "media_type": "Captions", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system has a mass about 1 million times the Sun’s.\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, ESA/Gaia/DPAC \rWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "label": "English", "language_code": "" } }, { "id": 244123, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400973, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBHB_Gaia_Warp_ProRes_360_4096x2048_30.webm", "filename": "SMBHB_Gaia_Warp_ProRes_360_4096x2048_30.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system has a mass about 1 million times the Sun’s.\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, ESA/Gaia/DPAC \rWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 325321, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13043/#media_group_325321", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system would have around 1 million times the Sun’s mass. The background is a view of the entire sky as observed by the NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).

\r

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA\r

", "items": [ { "id": 244127, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400976, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/sub-warped-WISE2012-003-B-000000.png", "filename": "sub-warped-WISE2012-003-B-000000.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system would have around 1 million times the Sun’s mass. The background is a view of the entire sky as observed by the NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA\r", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } }, { "id": 244128, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400977, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/sub-warped-WISE2012-003-B-000000_print.jpg", "filename": "sub-warped-WISE2012-003-B-000000_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system would have around 1 million times the Sun’s mass. The background is a view of the entire sky as observed by the NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA\r", "width": 1024, "height": 512, "pixels": 524288 } }, { "id": 244124, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400974, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBHB_WISE_Warp_ProRes_360_4096x2048_30.mov", "filename": "SMBHB_WISE_Warp_ProRes_360_4096x2048_30.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system would have around 1 million times the Sun’s mass. The background is a view of the entire sky as observed by the NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA\r", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } }, { "id": 244125, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400975, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/frames/4096x2048_2x1_30p/WISE/", "filename": "WISE", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system would have around 1 million times the Sun’s mass. The background is a view of the entire sky as observed by the NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA\r", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } }, { "id": 244126, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400978, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBHB_WISE_Warp_360_4096x2048_30.mp4", "filename": "SMBHB_WISE_Warp_360_4096x2048_30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system would have around 1 million times the Sun’s mass. The background is a view of the entire sky as observed by the NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA\r", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } }, { "id": 244129, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 400979, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013043/SMBHB_WISE_Warp_ProRes_360_4096x2048_30.webm", "filename": "SMBHB_WISE_Warp_ProRes_360_4096x2048_30.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This 360-degree video places the viewer between two circling supermassive black holes around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) apart with an orbital period of 46 minutes. The simulation shows how the black holes distort the starry background and capture light, producing black hole silhouettes. A distinctive feature called a photon ring outlines the black holes. The entire system would have around 1 million times the Sun’s mass. The background is a view of the entire sky as observed by the NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; background, NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA\r", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 325322, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13043/#media_group_325322", "widget": "Basic text", "title": "For More Information", "caption": "", "description": "See [http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/new-simulation-sheds-light-on-spiraling-supermassive-black-holes](http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/new-simulation-sheds-light-on-spiraling-supermassive-black-holes)", "items": [], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "gms", "funding_sources": [ "NASA Astrophysics" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Science writer", "people": [ { "name": "Jeanette Kazmierczak", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" }, { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] }, { "role": "Visualizer", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Noble", "employer": "USRA/U. Tulsa" } ] }, { "role": "Scientist", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Noble", "employer": "USRA/U. Tulsa" } ] } ], "missions": [], "series": [ "Astrophysics Features", "Astrophysics Stills", "Astrophysics Visualizations", "Narrated Movies" ], "tapes": [], "papers": [ "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aad8b4", "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aad8b4" ], "datasets": [], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Universe" ], "keywords": [ "Ast", "Astrophysics", "Black Hole", "Edited Feature", "Music", "Simulation", "Space", "Supermassive Black Hole", "X-ray" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 14132, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14132/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Black Hole Week: Black Hole GIFs", "description": "Black Hole WeekThis page provides social media assets used during previous celebrations of Black Hole Week. Join in! Below, you'll find many GIFs to use. || ", "release_date": "2022-04-12T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T11:44:14.472149-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 372070, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014100/a014132/BHW_BH_GIF_Thumbnail.jpg", "filename": "BHW_BH_GIF_Thumbnail.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Thumbnail", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 13556, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13556/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Astrophysics Valentines", "description": "Download our astrophysics-themed valentines! || Will you still love me tomorrow? Many cosmic couples, from binary stars to gravitationally bound galaxies, spend millions or even billions of years together — but some age more gracefully than others. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center || LoveMeTomorrow.gif (540x304) [2.4 MB] || ", "release_date": "2020-02-14T03:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2024-02-13T08:41:51.440468-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 386893, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013500/a013556/Binary_Black_Holes_Valentine.jpg", "filename": "Binary_Black_Holes_Valentine.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A love like ours is so rare...It's more than normal space and time can bear.", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "pixels": 1166400 } }, { "id": 11206, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11206/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "NASA-led Study Explains How Black Holes Shine in Hard X-rays", "description": "A new study by astronomers at NASA, Johns Hopkins University and the Rochester Institute of Technology confirms long-held suspicions about how stellar-mass black holes produce their highest-energy light. By analyzing a supercomputer simulation of gas flowing into a black hole, the team finds they can reproduce a range of important X-ray features long observed in active black holes. Jeremy Schnittman, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., led the research.Black holes are the densest objects known. Stellar black holes form when massive stars run out of fuel and collapse, crushing up to 20 times the sun's mass into compact objects less than 75 miles (120 kilometers) wide. Gas falling toward a black hole initially orbits around it and then accumulates into a flattened disk. The gas stored in this disk gradually spirals inward and becomes greatly compressed and heated as it nears the center, ultimately reaching temperatures up to 20 million degrees Fahrenheit (12 million C), or some 2,000 times hotter than the sun's surface. It glows brightly in low-energy, or soft, X-rays.For more than 40 years, however, observations show that black holes also produce considerable amounts of \"hard\" X-rays, light with energy tens to hundreds of times greater than soft X-rays. This higher-energy light implies the presence of correspondingly hotter gas, with temperatures reaching billions of degrees. The new study involves a detailed computer simulation that simultaneously tracked the fluid, electrical and magnetic properties of the gas while also taking into account Einstein's theory of relativity. Using this data, the scientists developed tools to track how X-rays were emitted, absorbed, and scattered in and around the disk. The study demonstrates for the first time a direct connection between magnetic turbulence in the disk, the formation of a billion-degree corona above and below the disk, and the production of hard X-rays around an actively \"feeding\" black hole.Watch this video on YouTube. || ", "release_date": "2013-06-14T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:52:04.530319-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 468347, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011206/Black_Hole_Sim_Still.png", "filename": "Black_Hole_Sim_Still.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This animation of supercomputer data takes you to the inner zone of the accretion disk of a stellar-mass black hole. Gas heated to 20 million degrees F as it spirals toward the black hole glows in low-energy, or soft, X-rays. Just before the gas plunges to the center, its orbital motion is approaching the speed of light. X-rays up to hundreds of times more powerful (\"harder\") than those in the disk arise from the corona, a region of tenuous and much hotter gas around the disk. Coronal temperatures reach billions of degrees. The event horizon is the boundary where all trajectories, including those of light, must go inward. Nothing, not even light, can pass outward across the event horizon and escape the black hole.Music: \"Lost in Space\" by Lars Leonhard, courtesy of artist.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "sources": [ { "id": 13086, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13086/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Supermassive Black Hole Binary Simulation Visualizations in 4k", "description": "Simulation of the light emitted by a supermassive black hole binary system where the surrounding gas is optically thin (transparent). Viewed from 0 degrees inclination, or directly above the plane of the disk. The emitted light represents all wavelengths.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018 || image-000-_000150_print.jpg (1024x576) [33.9 KB] || image-000-_000150.png (3840x2160) [5.1 MB] || 0Degrees (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || SMBH_Sim_Thin0_4kFull.mp4 (3840x2160) [15.0 MB] || SMBH_Sim_Thin0_4kFull.webm (3840x2160) [2.2 MB] || SMBH_Sim_Thin0_4kFull.mov (3840x2160) [427.6 MB] || ", "release_date": "2018-10-02T10:50:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:46:23.943583-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 399799, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013086/image-072-_000150_print.jpg", "filename": "image-072-_000150_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Simulation of the light emitted by a supermassive black hole binary system where the surrounding gas is optically thin (transparent). Viewed from 72 degrees inclination, or partially angled above the plane of the disk. The emitted light represents all wavelengths.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } ], "products": [ { "id": 14793, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14793/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Black Holes Vertical Video", "description": "This page collects Astrophysics vertical videos with black-hole-related content", "release_date": "2025-05-27T20:55:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-09-12T08:24:58.250408-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1153286, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014793/Binary Black Hole Still.jpg", "filename": "Binary Black Hole Still.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "", "width": 1080, "height": 1920, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }