VISUAL ARCHIVE / IMAGE STORY
A Hypothetical Accreting Binary
In the proposed binary model, a massive star supplies matter to an accreting black hole, and opposing jets emerge from the surrounding flow. The black-hole mass and details of the accretion environment are model assumptions rather than directly photographed features. AI-generated illustration.
In the proposed binary model, a massive star supplies matter to an accreting black hole, and opposing jets emerge from the surrounding flow. The black-hole mass and details of the accretion environment are model assumptions rather than directly photographed features. AI-generated illustration.
THE OBSERVATION
What we can actually see.
The article connects an obscured infrared source with radio structures and high-energy emission. Relativistic beaming is a mechanism that can make an approaching jet much brighter than a receding one, complicating the apparent symmetry of a system.
THE ILLUSTRATION
What the artwork imagines.
In the proposed binary model, a massive star supplies matter to an accreting black hole, and opposing jets emerge from the surrounding flow. The black-hole mass and details of the accretion environment are model assumptions rather than directly photographed features. AI-generated illustration. The selected artwork is a conceptual reconstruction. Viewpoint, lighting and apparent detail are illustrative, not additional measurements or a confirmed photograph of the depicted event.
FROM THE ILLUSTRATED ARTICLE
The story that inspired it.
An obscured stellar system may contain an accreting black hole with a jet aimed close to our line of sight. Radio, infrared and high-energy observations constrain that interpretation while leaving parts of the model open.
Read A Hidden Black Hole May Be Firing Almost Straight Toward EarthCHECK THE RECORD
The image interprets the research below. Follow the original work for the measurements and limits behind the scene.
“A Galactic microblazar as a potential accelerator of ultra-high-energy particles.” “A black hole in the Milky Way aims its jet at us.” “HESS J1831−098: Exploring a pulsar halo scenario with H.E.S.S. data.”OTHER IMAGE STORIES
A Proposed Microblazar Behind Dust
The Receding Jet Meets a Cloud
The Mark Shared by Titan and Pluto