Hubble sees disc around black hole | Science News | Scoop.it

The observations of the quasar's accretion disc – the glowing disc of matter that has been heated up as it is sucked into the central black hole – have revealed unique details of its size and temperature, observations that were only made possible using the gravitational lensing technique. This method relies on stars in an intervening galaxy located between the space telescope and the distant black hole magnifying light streaming from the quasar.