Russian astronomers tribute to Stephen Hawking, dedicate a newly discovered black hole

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New Delhi : Just two days after the demise of British scientist Stephen Hawking, Russian astronomers has discovered a new black hole in the Ophiuchus constellation. The team has decided to dedicate this new discovery to the late scientist, who has devoted his entire life time in studying the universe.

Sources said that a new black hole which lies in the Ophiuchus constellation, was spotted two days after the death of Stephen William Hawking, who was a renowned English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author, and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge.  The new black hole was discovered by a group of Russian astronomers, who observed a "gamma-ray burst” in the constellation. The scientists are from Moscow State University

Scientists said that the burst happened due to collapse of a star that, in turn, led to the formation of a black hole in its place.

In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are extremely energetic explosions that can be seen in distant galaxies. They are the brightest electromagnetic events known to occur in the universe.

While gamma-ray bursts are a common occurrence and can be observed on almost a daily basis, it is almost impossible to relocate a telescope to capture the release of energy, which may last anywhere from milliseconds to tens of seconds.

This time, however, the Russian astronomers who have seen this gamma-ray burst were fortunate enough.

According to a report, the enormously energetic blast was captured by a MASTER-IAC robotic telescope installed in Tenerife, Spain, which could focus on a star fast enough to capture an increase in its brightness and obtain information about its source.

Russian researchers wrote in the Astronomer’s Telegram journal. “MASTER devoted this optical discovery to Stephen Hawking, the Lord of Black Holes,” This latest discovery of black hole was registered under the name GRB180316A.

Best known for Hawking’s work on black holes, the cosmologist hypothesized that contrary to the existing scientific belief that black holes were inevitable for all forms of matter and energy, they actually emitted a form of radiation – now known as ‘Hawking radiation’.

The theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking passed away on March 14 at the age of 76, due to his complications linked with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – a progressive neurodegenerative disease.  Yet, he will remain forever alive through his discoveries and best of contributions in the field of science.