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accretion disk

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accretion disk
n.
A disk of interstellar material surrounding a celestial object with an intense gravitational field, such as a black hole.

accretion disk
A spinning disk of gas and dust surrounding a celestial object with an intense gravitational field, such as a star or a black hole. In binary star systems, the gravitational attraction of the denser star can pull matter from the other star into an accretion disk in its own orbit. The material in the accretion disk eventually spirals into the attracting star and adds to its mass. The gas in accretion disks that surround black holes becomes condensed and heated as it is sucked into the hole, emitting x-rays and other radiation that provide evidence for the presence of the black hole.


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The resulting movie reveals signs of a rotating accretion disk, where gas is swirling closer and closer to the protostar at the center.
Memorial and biographical talks are followed by presentations on black hole accretion disks, the All Sky Automated Survey, cosmic dark matter and gravitational microlensing, the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment, Paczynski's contributions to understanding gamma ray bursts, and the place of Paczynski in the history of astronomy.
[4] mentions a star with an accretion disk having 12 % of the star mass.
 
 
 
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