Rare Black Hole Event Seen by Satellites and Ground-based Telescopes Live Shots
Released on September 26, 2019
Observatories Collaborate to Catch Star-Gobbling Black Hole NASA’s TESS Sees Its First Star-destroying Black Hole Rare Black Hole Event Sheds Light on a Cosmic Mystery
For the first time, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) watched a black hole shred apart and devour a distant star from the moment the violent event began. This phenomenon only happens about once every 10,000 to 100,000 years in a galaxy the size of our own Milky Way!
So what is a black hole and how hard is it to watch one destroy a star? Chat with scientists on Friday, Sept. 27, from 6:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EDT to find out how they work together to spot these rare cosmic events and what we’re learning about them. Skype interviews are also available. HERE’s a link to the FEATURE STORY. And HERE for a version of it in Spanish.
Scientists know black holes are integral to the life cycle of galaxies, but they’re incredibly difficult to study. Thanks to identification and coordination by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae [ASAS-SN, pronounced like “assassin”] and observations by TESS and other missions, including NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, astrophysicists are a step closer to understanding some of the most mysterious objects in the universe.
Schedule an Interview To schedule an interview please fill out our form: https://forms.gle/rH7Ct9LWqETGB1gC7 Interview location: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
Satellite Coordinates HD Satellite Coordinates for G17-K18/Lower: Galaxy 17 Ku-band Xp 18 Slot Lower| 91.0 ° W Longitude | DL 12051.0 MHz | Vertical Polarity | QPSK/DVB-S | FEC 3/4 | SR 13.235 Mbps | DR 18.2954 MHz | HD 720p | Format MPEG2 | Chroma Level 4:2:0 | Audio Embedded
Media contacts for partner institutions: Natasha Metzler / Carnegie Institution, Strategic Communications/ nmetzler@carnegiescience.edu/ (202) 939-1142 Laura Arenschield / The Ohio State University, Research Communications / Arenschield.2@osu.edu