The Need for Speed
Listen 00:06:15A star has been discovered that orbits a black hole once every 28 minutes. Not impressed? This star is 2.5 times farther away from the black hole than the moon is from Earth, and the moon orbits the Earth only once every 27 days.
Scientists believe they have discovered a new way that stars are formed. A black hole spits out particles and gases at a blistering 94 million miles per hour. That seems pretty fast, until you realize that’s only 14% of the speed of light. Scientists think that new stars could be formed in those high-speed jets of matter.
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Skytalk is hosted by WHYY's Dave Heller. Each week he discusses the latest news in astronomy with Dr. Derrick H. Pitts of the Franklin Institute.
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