Astronomy
Accretion Disks Around Black Holes and Young Stars
Quick fact
The inner regions of an accretion disk around a black hole can reach temperatures of over 10 million Kelvin, emitting X-rays that reveal the presence of the otherwise invisible black hole.
Why this is interesting
You've seen water spiral down a drain—now imagine that on a cosmic scale, with gas and dust heating up to millions of degrees as it falls toward a black hole or a newborn star.