A mission with nanocrafts and light sails to study black holes and test general relativity is proposed. Probes gather data near black holes, transmitted back by a mothership. Technical advancements are key for this century-long journey.
Scientists using Event Horizon Telescope images reveal M87's black hole spins near its theoretical limit (0.8-0.998) and feeds relatively quietly. Jet power matches infalling matter, impacting galaxy formation understanding.
JWST observations reveal dust obscured a black hole (LID-568), leading to overestimation of its mass and accretion rate. Recalculation using infrared light provides a more accurate mass estimation.
"NICER's ability to steer to pretty much any part of the sky and monitor for weeks has been instrumental in our understanding of these unusual cosmic explosions," explained Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researcher and team member Dheeraj Pasham.
"This work highlights the transformative potential of observing the black hole environment evolving over time," study co-author Hung-Yi Pu, an assistant professor at National Taiwan Normal University, said in the statement.
