In news

Indian Astronomers have reported one of the strongest flares from a feeding supermassive black hole or blazar called BL Lacertae

BL Lacertae

• BL Lacertae blazar is 10 million light-years away and is among the 50 most prominent blazars that can be observed with the help of a relatively small telescope. It was among the 3 to 4 blazars that was predicted to be experiencing flares by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT), an international consortium of astronomers.  
  
• Analysis of the flare from this blazar, one of the oldest astronomical objects, can help trace the mass of the black hole and the source of this emission.
  
• Blazars or feeding supermassive black holes in the heart of distant galaxies receive a lot of attention from the astronomical community because of their complicated emission mechanism.
  They emit jets of charged particles traveling nearly at the speed of light and are one of the most luminous and energetic objects in the Universe.

Significance

Such analysis can provide a lead to probe into mysteries and trace events at different stages of evolution of the Universe.

Black Hole

• A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.
• Because no light can get out, people can't see black holes. They are invisible. Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes.
• The special tools can see how stars that are very close to black holes act differently than other stars.

Source: PIB