Germany seems to come up in my reading all the time. While watching the news the other day (CNN World), they had an item about Germany and black holes. I was really interested to find out more, so I searched the CNN site for the details. I am ever amazed at all the contributions the people of this country contribute to our understand and technology. Below is the article that prompted my question for yesterday. It may not make your day to day life any different, but someday, I hope to have a better understanding of what is beyond our world, and this may go a long way to help. I copied from the CNN sciences section:
(CNN) -- German astronomers say they have discovered conclusive proof of a supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy.
The center of the galaxy is a "unique laboratory" for astronomical study.
The 16-year study involved tracking the movement of 28 stars at the center of the Milky Way using telescopes at the European Southern Observatory in Chile.
Using the data collected, astronomers were able to calculate important properties about the black hole -- called Sagittarius A* -- such as its size and mass.
Professor Reinhard Genzel, who led the study at the Bavaria-based Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, said the data collected proved the existence of the black hole "beyond any reasonable doubt."
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our long term study is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Genzel. The black hole had a central mass concentration of four million solar masses, he added.
The study also enabled astronomers to calculate the distance of the earth from the center of the galaxy, now measured to be 27,000 light-years, and enhanced by six times the accuracy to which they were able to measure the positions of stars -- the equivalent of seeing a one euro coin from a distance of 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles).
One star, called S2, orbited the center of the Milky Way so quickly that it completed one full revolution within the duration of the study.
Genzel said the center of the galaxy was a "unique laboratory" for the study of the strong gravity, stellar dynamics and star formation with a level of detail "never possible beyond our galaxy."
Stefan Gillessen, the chief author of the study, published in the Astrophysical Journal, said: "The Galactic Center harbors the closest supermassive black hole known. Hence, it is the best place to study black holes in detail."
I will be in Stuttgart at a seminar given by my husband's work for our whole family on Monday and Tuesday. I will resume writing the blog on Wednesday, Dec. 17th.
The word for the day is Science: die Wissenschaft (viss ehn shahft).
The question for the day is "What do Germans call the day after Christmas?"
Until Wednesday ...
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
