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Malaysian PhD Student Discovers Hidden Supermassive Black Hole

Malaysian PhD Student Discovers Hidden Supermassive Black Hole
Black Hole Illustration © NASA

Malaysian astrophysics PhD student, Nur Adlyka Ainul Annuar was among a group of astronomers who have discovered evidence of black holes in our cosmic backyard, presented earlier today during a press conference at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Grapevine, Texas.

Adlyka, who is currently pursuing her Phd at the Centre of Extragalactic Astronomy, Durham University, United Kingdom, was among British researchers who conducted analysis of the American space agency NASA’s most recent X-ray telescope called NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array).

Presenting on the topic "Black Holes, Green Galaxies, Old Stars & NuSTARs", her study discovered that the galaxy has a thick column of gas hiding the central black hole.

Nur Adlyka Ainul Annuar (second from left at the American Astronomical Meeting in Grapevine, Texas. Image: New Straits Times
Nur Adlyka Ainul Annuar (second from left at the American Astronomical Meeting in Grapevine, Texas. Image: New Straits Times

 

Adlyka said: “These black holes are relatively close to the Milky Way, but they have remained hidden from us until now.

“They’re like monsters hiding under your bed. Their recent discoveries certainly call out the question of how many other supermassive black holes we are still missing, even in our nearby universe.”

Adlyka whose research is focused on trying to find active supermassive black holes that are enshrouded by thick clouds of gas and dust in our universe said: " NuSTAR can detect high energy X-ray emission from the black hole that is able to penetrate through the thick layers of gas and dust."

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System. Image: NASA
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System. Image: NASA

 

"Finding these hidden beasts is quite important to improve our understanding on the growth of supermassive black holes, and how they co-evolved with their host galaxies."

Supermassive black holes are defined as those that are at least a million times massive than the sun.

Adlyka, who hails from Muar Johor, also holds a BSc in Physics and Astrophysics from University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. The Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) scholar is expected to complete her PHD in Astrophysics by the end of July 2017.

Source : New Straits Times

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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