What would a black hole really look like?

What would you see if you went right up to a black hole?
This computer generated image highlighting how strange things would look. The black hole has such strong gravity that light is noticeably bent towards it - causing some very unusual visual distortions. 
Every star in the normal frame has at least two bright images - one on each side of the black hole. Near the black hole, you can see the whole sky - light from every direction is bent around and comes back to you. 

Alain Riazuelo's startling image of a black hole deep in space. The image shows how light would bend around the black hole

The original background map was taken from the 2MASS infrared sky survey
Black holes are thought to be the densest state of matter, and there is indirect evidence for their presence in stellar binary systems and the centres of globular clusters, galaxies, and quasars.
Alain Riazuelo, from the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, said: ‘This is what you would see if you went right up to a black hole. This is a computer generated image highlighting how strange things would look.
‘The black hole has such strong gravity that light is noticeably bent towards it - causing some very unusual visual distortions. Every star in the normal frame has at least two bright images - one on each side of the black hole. 
‘Near the black hole, you can see the whole sky - light from every direction is bent around and comes back to you. ‘

Pale blue rings show the two mirror images of the Small Magellanic Cloud. Magenta rings shows the two images of Alpha and Beta Centauri. The yellow rings show the two images of Gamma Crucis (the redder, uppermost star of the Southern Cross). The two images of Canopus are shown within the white rings. As secondary image of Sirrius is visible at the left of the black hole (brown). The original is pushed out of the frame by the black hole

The original image on which the black hole has been superimposed is almost at the centre of the Large Magellanic Cloud (see bottom picture).
Above it we can see the southernmost part of Milky Way with, from left to right, Alpha and Beta Centauri, the Southern Cross, and then the huge Argo Navis, now split into three constellations (from left to right, Carina, Vela and Puppis). 
At the right of the picture, the brightest spot is Sirius, from Canis Major. The second brightest star, close to the LMC is Canopus. The brightest star of the lower part of the picture is Achernar, at the edge of Eridanus. 
The distortion created by the hypothetical black hole was mapped onto a point in the centre of the image.

A ghost image of the star HD 49359, which dominates this picture is circled in green on the edge of the black hole

The original image of the Large Magellanic Cloud up on which the distortions caused by a hypothetical black hole were superimposed (green)

Read more »

Volcano in Indonesia

We bring you some amazing pictures from Kawah Ijen volcano in Indonesia. Mother Nature did some awesome job in this part of the world.

Read more »

10 Weirdest Natural Phenomena

Mother Nature will never cease to amaze mankind, simply because of her unpredictability. Some of the most fascinating things in life are the natural phenomenons that occur around the world. They have the power to mesmerise us and leave us compelled by their sheer beauty, uniqueness and plain freakishness. Here is a list of ten of the very weirdest, freakish and most fascinating of all the world’s natural phenomena.

1. Old Faithful

Image source - Wikipedia

Yellowstone’s is the world’s best known geyser because of its consistent eruptions nearly every hour. Up to 8,400 gallons of scalding hot water shoot up to the heavens reaching heights of over 100 feet. It was first discovered in 1870 and since then over 30,000 eruptions have been recorded. Like a performing whale at Sea World this geyser attracts thousands of tourists a year.

2. Kelimutu

Image source - Wikipedia

Kelimutu in Indonesia attracts visitors because of its three magnificent crater lakes, all of varying colours.  It is located in the summit of a 1,639  metre high volcano on the island of Flores and the three lakes change their colours frequently. It all depends on the time of the year and their changing mineral content. Although they are prone to regular changes the main colour of Tiwu Ata Polo (the Lake of the Bewitched People) and Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai (the Lake of Young Men and Maidens) are deep reddish-brown or green. Lying to the west of these is Tiwu Ata Mbupu (the Lake of Old People), which is more of a blue colour.

3. Surtsey

Image source - Wikipedia

In August 1883 the Javanese island of Krakatoa vanished forever from one single, violent explosion. Exactly 80 years later a new volcanic island emerged in its place totally out of the blue. It was discovered that this was caused by a continuing series of less ferocious volcano eruptions beneath the sea south of Iceland. In just two days enough lava and scoria had been thrown to the surface causing an island to form, which measured a third of a mile from end to end. Wind and erosion has diminished its size since its first appearance but this has not deterred some animals setting up home on the island. Residents include seals, puffins, whooper swans, common ravens and various geese.

4. Dead Sea

Image source - ianaloni

As the guy in the picture demonstrates it is perfectly easy to float on the Dead Sea and read a newspaper. The reason for this is that it is 25% salt (normal sea water is around 4-6). Obviously no marine life can live in the Dead Sea either and with the increased density of the water floating is the natural occurrence. The Dead Sea, interestingly, is not only the lowest place on the planet but it is also the hottest, besides the inside of a volcano of course!

5. Petrified Forest

Image source - Wikipedia

Lying just off the Arizona I-40 highway, deep into the desert between Holbrook and Navajo is the Petrified Forest. The “forest” comprises of fallen fossilised trees, mostly Araucarioxylon arizonicum, an ancient species of conifer, which have been mineralised into chalcedony and quartz. This process occurrs after the dead fallen trees become permeated by the mineral content of the sediments in which they are lying. This basically means that the wood of the tree eventually turns to stone.

6. Giant’s Causeway

Image source - Wikipedia

Ireland’s one and only World Heritage site is this gigantic area covered in basalt columns and stones. The 38,000 stone columns were created after the eruption of a volcano around 60 million years ago. The lava rapidly cooled leaving these sightly columns behind. The locals, however, prefer to tell tourists another tale. They say that Fionn MacCumhaill (pronounced Finn McCool) created the area by throwing down enormous chunks of cliff to make stepping stones so that he could get to his lover on the Hebridean island of Staffa, or to walk to Scotland to fight the Scottish colossus, Benandonner. Hence the name of the place.

7. Pitch Lake

Image source - Wikipedia

Pitch Lake is one of Trinidad’s biggest tourist attractions, seeing over 20,000 visitors per year. Unlike any other lake in the world this one is filled with a gloopy, thick mixture of bitumen, clay and saltwater. It covers more than 100 acres and has been used for asphalt, ever since Sir Walter Rayleigh first took some to caulk his ship’s timbers back in 1595. Unsurprisingly there is no life living in this ooze.

8. General Sherman

Image source - Wikipedia

Not including coral reef or spreading fungi this famous Giant Sequoia in California is officially the largest living thing in the world. It is somewhere between 23 and 27 centuries old. Its trunk alone comprises almost 52,000 cubic feet of wood. It proudly stands at 275 feet tall, is more than 36 feet in diameter at its base and has a crown that spreads just over 106 feet! It was named in honour of the American Civil War general, William Sherman, by the naturalist James Wolverton who served under Sherman’s command.

9. Dachstein Caves

Image source - austria-trips

An impressive 150 miles of icy tunnels and spooky caverns make up the Dachstein Caves, Austria’s famous ice caves which are located near Lake Hallstatt. The magnificent ice columns, arches and spikes were formed by swirling air that melted parts of the ice. Deeper underground is a giant glacier but some of the most amazing sights can be seen on the travel down, where some parts of the ice have formed what looks like a huge ice cathedral.

10. Aurora Borealis

Image source - Wikipedia

Otherwise known as the Northern Lights this mysterious yet beautiful natural phenomenon is said to be one of the greatest treasures in life if you are lucky enough to see them for yourself. The name Aurora  Borealis comes from the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas. There is also the Southern Lights aka Aurora Australis – the Latin word for South. The lights are a results of the Earth’s photons colliding with solar winds. You’ll only be lucky enough to see them if you visit certain parts of the Northern or Southern Hemisphere.

Read more »

Top 10 Most Dangerous Volcanoes In The World

Here’s the list of most dangerous volcanoes in the world.  It can be likened to a volcano as a currency, the currencyhas two sides, each opposite. Volcanic eruption is one of the most horrific disaster, it could occurs the deaths of hundreds or even thousands, still remind you of terrifying eruption of Krakatoavolcano that occurred in 1883, which caused massive damage and casualties in the thousands. Is not it terrible right.
10. Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawaii
Mauna Loa is the largest volcano in the world (volume and area), with the volume of lava reaches approximately 18,000 cubic miles. Mauna Loa is one of the five mountains that form the Island of Hawaii. Though Mauna Loa is not the highest mountain, but the erupt is the most dangerous, this is because the content of this mountain lava consists lot of fluid that can cause serious fires. The mountain last erupted on April 15, 1984.

Mauna Loa Volcano

9. Taal Volcano, Philippines
Taal Volcano is a volcanic complex on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. This mountain consists of an island in Lake Taal, which is located inside the caldera formed by very strong previous eruptions (the process is similar to lake Toba). Taal Volcano is located about 50 km (31 mile) from the capital, Manila. This volcano has erupted hard several times, carrying one of the most powerful eruption in 1991 that killed more than a thousand souls.

Taal Volcano

8. Ulawun Volcano, Papua New Guinea
Ulawun is one of the most active volcanoes in Papua New Guinea and one of the most dangerous. The mount is located in Papua New Guinea, the Bismarck arc. The mountain erupted several times has been recorded, one of the strongest eruption was in 1980, where Ulawun out ash up to 60 000 feet tall andproduce pyroclastic flows that swept all sides of the mountain.

Ulawun Volcano

7. Nyiragongo Volcano, Congo
The nyiragongo is one of the most active volcano in Africa, this mountain is always revealing the activity significantly. Since 1882, he has erupted at least 34 times. One of the worst eruption was on the stairs 17 September 2002, when the lava flowed down the slopes of Nyiragongo to cover approximately 40% of the city of Goma and caused nearly 120 000 people homeless.

Nyiragongo Volcano

6. Merapi Volcano, Indonesia
Mount Merapi is a conical volcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This is the most active volcanoes in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. This mountain has been active since 10 000 years ago. Most of the Merapi eruption involving the collapse of the lava dome continues to flow beneath ka. And sometimes often accompanied by ome down of the hot smoke (wedhus trash) that the fast can reach 120 km per hour.

Merapi Volcano

5. Galeras Volcano, Colombia
Galeras volcano has been active for at least a million years. Located near the southern Colombian border with Ecuador. This mountain is the most active volcano in Colombia. This mountain has been erupting almost every year since 2000. This is dangerous because the unexpected eruption frequency. This could lead to eruption of hot lava to 3.5 km come down to the slopes of Mount Galeras. The last eruption was on January 3, 2010, and forced the government to evacuate 8,000 people.

Galeras Volcano

4. Sakurajima Volcano, Japan
Sakurajima is one of the most active volcanoes in Japan, the mountain is located on Kyushu Island Japan. The intensity of the eruptions is one of the highest in Japan and even the world. even the 7300 eruption was recorded in the last 45 years. One of a terrible eruption occurred on March 10, 2009 where the mountain is throwing rocks and other mountain composition until two miles away.

Sakurajima Volcano

3. Popocatepetl Volcano, Mexico
Popocatepetl is an active volcano located at an altitude of 5426 meters above sea level. existing recorded 20 eruptions since 1519. The explosion was very powerful, because it can release volcanic ash within a radius of a fairly remote. Even since December 1994 occurred on this mountain dangerous activity continuously, until finally a great eruption occurred in 2000 which is the largest eruption of Mount Popocatepetl in history has ever perpetuated.

Popocatepetl Volcano

2. Vesuvius Volcano, Italy
Mount Vesuvius is a strato volcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about nine miles east of Naples. Mount Vesuvius is the only volcano in mainland Europe has erupted in the last hundred years. Famous for the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 years that caused the destruction of Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. This mountain could erupt at any time, and severity there are about 3 million people who live around Vesuvius volcano.  The eruption of lava bursts this can lead to very high, even on March 22, 1994, high bursts of lava reaching 1000 meters.

Vesuvius Volcano

1. Yellowstone Super-volcano, United States
Yellowstone Super-volcano is the most dangerous mount in the world. Yellowstone Super-volcano explosion rocks and composition can shoot up to 1000 kilometers from the mount other cubic. volcanic eruptions of lava and ash this mount enough to threaten the extinction of species and can even become one of the causes of a mass disaster, because once the mountain is erupting, it will cause all the other volcanic activity experienced a major tectonic vibrations and could trigger other explosions.

Yellowstone Supervolcano

Have you ever see for these most dangerous volcanoes above?

Read more »