Accretion T-Shirts

In physics, gravitational waves are ripples in the curvature of spacetime that propagate as a wave, travelling outward from the source. Predicted to exist by Albert Einstein in 1915 on the basis of his theory of general relativity, gravitational waves theoretically transport energy as gravitational radiation. Although gravitational radiation has not been directly detected, there is indirect evidence for its existence. For example, the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for measurements of the Hulse-Taylor binary system that suggests gravitational waves are more than mathematical anomalies. As objects with mass move around in spacetime, the curvature changes to reflect the changed locations of those objects. In certain circumstances,...

In physics, gravitational waves are ripples in the curvature of spacetime that propagate as a wave, travelling outward from the source. Predicted to exist by Albert Einstein in 1915 on the basis of his theory of general relativity, gravitational waves theoretically transport energy as gravitational radiation. Although gravitational radiation has not been directly detected, there is indirect evidence for its existence. For example, the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for measurements of the Hulse-Taylor binary system that suggests gravitational waves are more than mathematical anomalies. As objects with mass move around in spacetime, the curvature changes to reflect the changed locations of those objects. In certain circumstances,...

A black hole is an object so compact -- usually a collapsed star -- that nothing can escape its gravitational pull. Not even light. In this image, we can see a black hole, but only because it is surrounded by a superheated disc of material, an accretion disc.

Cygnus X-1 black hole, illustration. Cygnus X-1 is located near large active regions of star formation in the Milky Way. This illustration depicts what astronomers think is happening within the Cygnus X-1 system. Cygnus X-1 is a so-called stellar-mass black hole, a class of black holes that comes from the collapse of a massive star. The black hole (left) pulls material from a massive, blue companion star (right) toward it. This material forms a disk (red and orange) that rotates around the black hole before falling into it or being redirected away from the black hole in the form of powerful jets. Cygnus X-1 is around 6000 light years from Earth, in the constellation of Cygnus. Image published in 2011.

Black hole is always hungry

Illustration of a black hole. A black hole is a region of spacetime where the gravity is so powerful that not even light can escape them. They are created when massive stars die. This one is surrounded by an accretion disc of material, the light from which is warped by the strong gravity. Both the front of the disc and the portion behind the black hole are visible, as well as the underside of the disc (arc at top), whose light has been bent over the hole towards the viewer.

Illustration of an active galactic nucleus, or AGN. Many, perhaps most large galaxies, are thought to harbour supermassive black holes in their central regions. These enormous gravitational powerhouses can weigh anything from a few hundred thousand to several billion times the mass of a normal star. In some galaxies, such as our own Milky Way, these black holes may be dormant. But in active galaxies such as quasars and Seyfert galaxies, those with unusually bright central regions, the black hole is probably feeding off a vast accretion disc - a donut-shaped gas cloud. The gas in the disc spirals around and is heated to extremely high temperatures by friction, before falling into the hole. In some cases, magnetic fields thread the disc, a...

abstract, fine art, accretion, pen and ink, fine line, ink, astronomy, planet, coalesce, stellar nursery, science, physics, pattern, detailed, colorful, accretion disk, dust, stardust, stellar, solar system, black and white, flowers, botanical, line drawing, home d cor, graphic, contemporary, beautiful, beauty, watercolor