WASHINGTON 鈥� Well, this could ruin your whole Monday: A black hole that had gone dormant in 1989 has reawakened, the European Space Agency says.
The ESA says they鈥檝e started detecting 鈥渁n exceptional outburst of high-energy light鈥� from the black hole in the Cygnus constellation, which, , means it鈥檚 come back to life.
鈥淭he behavior of this source is extraordinary at the moment, with repeated bright flashes of light on time scales shorter than an hour, something rarely seen in other black-hole systems,” says ESA astronomer Erik Kuulkers.
Kuulkers, who clearly hasn鈥檛 watched enough science-fiction movies, calls the fact that a black hole, which devours all matter in its path, is back in business 鈥渁 鈥榦nce in a lifetime鈥� professional opportunity.鈥�
He explains that in 1989, most of his colleagues weren鈥檛 professional astronomers yet, and that the instruments of the time can鈥檛 hold a candle to today鈥檚 gear. Now, he says, “The community couldn’t be more thrilled.鈥�
Oh, great.
