Chandra and the Youngest Black Hole W49B

According to Nasa's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, we have may have just discovered a newly forming black hole!! This picture shows the gasses rotating about a fixed axis, probably about the axis along the rotation of the star. From what I remember, stars eventually run out of fuel when it begins to fuse heavier elements like Iron. It becomes unable to produce enough nuclear fusion and collapses under its gravity, releasing enough potential energy to ignite an explosion. In the end, it leaves behind either a very dense neutron star (manetar?) or a black hole. Neutron stars emit x-ray impulses, however Chandra did not detect a neutron star which implies the creation of a black hole.

Another interesting fact is the anisotropic distribution of Iron. Chandra's data show its only present in half of the observed spectroscopy. According to the paper, it is consistent with "bipolar/jet-driven Type Ib/Ic SN origin [...] since heavy elements are preferentially ejected along the polar axis of the pro-genitor in these explosions" (what is a progenitor?).  Here's a picture of the distribution of gases:

Interested in reading more about this subject? Here's the link:
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1301.0618v1.pdf

My questions for Dr. Siana: What determines whether the end result of a Supernova is a blackhole or a neutron star? Are there any other products?

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Chandra is an X-Ray telescope that launched in 1999 whose purpose is to detect emissions from exploding stars, or matter around black holes. It works by detecting X-rays striking the hollow shells in mirrors.  So far it has observed the region near the super massive black hole in our galaxy and is contributing to dark matter/energy studies. Chandra orbits around the Van Allen belts as it produces images with high quality resolution. The mirrors are product of painstaking work as they have to have the smoothness of a few atoms. It works with the use of four instruments: The ACIS (Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer), the HRC, and two high resolution spectrometers. The ACIS is used to make the X-ray images as well as measure their energy. According to Harvard, the HRC  focuses the telescope to see and image with detail as small as two arc-seconds. The two high resolution spectrometers diffract the incoming X-rays in a direction dependent on its energy, which is then measured by the ACIS and focused by the HRC. Here's an example of what Chandra can do:

Listening to Jupiter.... on the radio?

Apparently, we can listen in on the sound of a planet by picking up on their ultrasonic frequencies (wavelengths too short fro humans to hear). Jupiter has a strong magnetic field, about 10 times more powerful than earth's. How so? Its because of Jupiter's hydrogen content. Deep inside Jupiter the gravitational force is so strong that there lies a sea of liquid hydrogen that behaves like a metal, allowing the flow of electricity (definition of a magnetic field). This could be why we can't hear other planets without the help of satellites.
According to NASA  you tend to hear the sound of woodpeckers, whales, sounds accelerating or decelerating. They only occur during Jupiter's intense radio storms. Now the reason I mentioned Jupiter's strong magnetic field is because these radio-waves are able to be received by short-wave radios and played through our loudspeakers. Now which is more suitable to pick up these waves, AM or FM? The answer is AM because Jupiter's Magnetic Frequency goes from .01 to 40 MHz (wiki) which is not within the bandwidth of FM (88-108 MHz).
Where can we hear these sounds? I remember watching this whole documentary (where this vid comes from) and they we're able to do this in some desert. That makes sense to me because you don't want background noises hindering the quality of sound you get from Jupiter. A have a link below (radio jove) as an example of Jupiter's sounds. For me, this seems like something fun to do: go camp out overnight in the desert listening to our solar system's greatest hits while eating s'mores... That actually sounds like a good plan!!!

And lastly, for your enjoyment: the Earth singing in whale:

Links:

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1999/AleksandraCzajka.shtml
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2004/20feb_radiostorms/
http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/observing/sample_data.htm