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Q&A: General Astronomy and Space Science
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Q:
Which theory of gravitation is correct, Einstein's theory that
gravity is a property of space and time, or Newton's theory of
gravitation? Could Chandra help us in any way to resolve the
above?
A:
The question has already been resolved in favor of Einstein by
observing (during a solar eclipse) the bending of light from
background stars as it passes near the Sun, and many other
observations. However, Einstein's theory has never been verified
for strong gravitational fields such as are found in the
vicinity of black holes, which are themselves a prediction of
Einstein's theory. Chandra may help here by observing the
details of the X-ray emission produced by particles orbiting
very near the event horizon of a black hole. In particular, X
rays from iron ions radiate at a specific energy. As the iron
ions orbit a black hole this energy signal is distorted by their
motion, and by the warping of space and time. The distortion due
to this warping is what astronomers hope to observe with
Chandra.
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