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Stellar-mass Black Hole Birds

This image shows the same black hole bird cartoon character in a variety of poses. The character is a round black bird, representing a black hole, with an orange beak, two round eyes, two small horn-shaped ear tufts on top of their head, small wings on either side, and narrow stick-like legs. The first row has four different poses. The first has the bird with its wings and legs outstretched with white dashes all around it, as if it has just poofed into existence. The second and third poses show the bir dancing, first with their wings raised, then with them lowered. Finally their wings are raised while they look down to the right. The second row has another four poses. The first two show the bird flying, first with their wings down, looking slightly down, then with their wings and legs up looking to the right. The next pose shows the bird’s wings straight out and their legs outstretched. Finally their eyes are narrowed and their head cocked to the side, with their wings pulled in. There’s one additional post on the bottom. Here the bird is surrounded by rings of orange, green and blue, which represent an accretion disk around the black hole. Shooting up to the upper left and down to the lower right from the bird are orange, blue and green plumes which represent jets of material that can be accelerated away from the area around a black hole. There is text below each image with a couple of words or a phrase describing each pose.
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Published: April 11, 2023

These little black hole birds are a fun-loving bunch! They're happy to either flit about by themselves or grab a nearby friend for an orbital dance. They also love showing off their plumage in the form of accretion disks or jets.

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