Grasping at an understanding of the universe

                                                                                     Courtesy of PBS Learning Media

On the occasion of a recent startling discovery one astrophysicist exclaimed that it's a great time to be studying the universe because there was so much to learn about "the cosmos and the exotic and extreme objects that exist". Reporting on the discoverythat evoked that excitement, Marina Koren at The Atlantic relates how astrophysicists are puzzled by new findings on the Cygnus X-1 black hole. 

[When...] a team of researchers directed their attention to it a few years ago, they noticed something weird. According to their recently published findings, the black hole, the [stellar] system’s main attraction, is much more massive than they thought. Which is particularly strange because, based on what astronomers currently understand about these kinds of objects and the way they form, this black hole probably shouldn’t exist.

Koren continues her report on the findings, published in Science, The Astrophysical Journal, and here, by pointing out:

Black holes are some of the most mysterious objects in the universe, in our own Milky Way galaxy and many light-years beyond, and they often surprise the researchers trying to understand them. [In this case, ] a familiar black hole showed it still has secrets. The accidental discovery is a reminder that astronomers are still trying to understand some of the most basic forces in our galaxy. 

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There are still many unknowns, and even the most familiar objects, like Cygnus X-1, can still confound scientists. The latest research updates the black hole’s size from 15 times the mass of our sun to 21 times that of our sun. To the untrained eye, this is a small, almost negligible, jump. But to astronomers, the revised estimate means they must revisit their theories on massive stars and the black holes they become. 

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Astronomers thought, based on what they understood about stellar metallicities—a gorgeous term for the abundance of heavy metals in massive stars—that the biggest black hole an environment such as the Milky Way could produce would max out at about 15 times the mass of our sun. The existence of Cygnus X-1 suggests that this fundamental fact of our galaxy is incomplete. 

In summary, Koren writes, "attempting to decipher black holes can often feel like a game of galactic whack-a-mole. 'Every time you have some new bit of information, or answer one question,' [a team member] said, 'three more appear.'”

Postscript: From the Eurekalert website we get these reasonable comments from the leader of the Cygnus X-1 team, Professor James Miller-Jones from Curtin University and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research:

Studying black holes is like shining a light on the Universe's best kept secret - it's a challenging but exciting area of research.

As the next generation of telescopes comes online, their improved sensitivity reveals the Universe in increasingly more detail, leveraging decades of effort invested by scientists and research teams around the world to better understand the cosmos and the exotic and extreme objects that exist. It's a great time to be an astronomer!