A new paradigm for active galactic nuclei
Tuesday, April 24, 2012 - 07:20
in Astronomy & Space
(Phys.org) -- Seyfert galaxies are similar to normal galaxies like our own Milky Way except in one critical respect: their nuclei are fantastically bright, in extreme instances as luminous as 100 billion suns. Astronomers think that these huge energies are generated in such active galactic nuclei by processes around their massive black holes. Matter, as it falls in towards the vicinity of a black hole, heats up and radiates intensely. The Milky Way also has a massive black hole at its center, and there is evidence that some matter is falling in towards it, but for reasons that are not understood the center of our galaxy is not particularly bright as compared to its star-filled spiral arms.