Stephen Hawking recently proposed an odd way to alleviate the planet from fossil fuel scarcity. According to the Cambridge professor, harvesting the energy radiating from black holes would ensure humanity unending supply of power.
"A mountain-sized black hole would give off X-rays and gamma rays, at a rate of about 10 million megawatts, enough to power the world's electricity supply" explained Hawking.
The scientist was quick to explain that he us well aware of the limitations in technology that might hamper his plans. However a recent discovery by the team behind The Hubble Space Telescope might just make Hawking's vision a reality.
Late last week, scientists from NASA and the ESA unveiled images of the largest black hole humanity has ever observed. According to the Hubble Space team the black hole dubbed is located in the giant as NGC 4889 galaxy which is 300 million light-year away. The black hole is twenty-one billion times the mass of the solar system's sun and is 15 times the size of Neptune's orbit.
The black hole however is now dormant. Astronomers have claimed that the black how no longer is a threat to celestial object surrounding it that stars have begun forming from the gas orbiting the hole.
The team have since explained the process in which they have discovered the massive black hole. According to a recent published post, both Keck II observatory and the Gemini North Telescope was used to observe the stars moving around the galaxy. Their movement in turn revealed the location of the black hole.
"Using instruments on the Keck II Observatory and Gemini North Telescope, astronomers measured the velocity of the stars moving around NGC 4889's centre. These velocities - which depend on the mass of the object they orbit - revealed the immense mass of the supermassive black hole" read a part of the official announcement.
View the images here.
