The first evidence for Plunging Regions around Black Holes
In this video we're chatting about the new research paper claiming to have observed the "plunging regions" inside the innermost stable circular orbit around a black hole.
2024-05-30 19:00:00 - Dr. Becky
Using an X-ray spectrum of the black hole MAXI J1820+070 Mummery and collaborators were able to prove that the region around a black hole existed as Einstein predicted in his theory of General Relativity.
Even more exciting still, is that this could be a new method for measuring the spin of a black hole!
00:00 - Introduction
03:40 - What is the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) around a black hole?
06:41 - How does the ISCO relate to the black hole's spin?
10:04 - How Mummery and collaborators studied the "plunging region" inside the ISCO using X-ray observations of MAXI J1820+070
14:40 - What this study tells us about black hole spin
16:27 - Interview with Dr. Andy Mummery
20:27 - Bloopers