Photo: Black Holes Can Spawn Large, Odd Stars, Model Suggests



A computer simulation shows the final stage of a starmaking cloud as it falls toward a supermassive black hole. A portion of the cloud formed a disk around the black hole, which quickly fragmented to form 198 abnormally large stars.

An August 2008 paper describing the results of the simulation suggests that such a process could explain two unusual populations of big, young stars near the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

Image courtesy Science/AAAS


NEWS FEEDS    After installing a news reader, click on this icon to download National Geographic News's XML/RSS feed. After installing a news reader, click on this icon to download National Geographic News's XML/RSS feed.

Get our news delivered directly to your desktop—free.
How to Use XML or RSS

ADVERTISEMENT

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S PHOTO OF THE DAY

50 Drives of a Lifetime

National Geographic Traveler has scoured the globe for the world's most beautiful, interesting, and off-beat road trips. Dive in to get drive directions, quizzes, photos, and more.