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More Images of Spinning Black Holes Survey
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Illustration of Black Hole Engine
The first artist's illustration shows a close-up view of a supermassive black hole in a
galaxy's center. Gas becomes hotter as it approaches the black hole,
turning from red to yellow to white. Most of the gas is swallowed by the
black hole, but some is launched in jets away from the black hole at almost
the speed of light. The next illustration shows a larger area where gas is
first attracted to the black hole, a region about a million times larger
than the black hole's event horizon. The final illustration shows enormous
cavities -- a hundred times larger -- that have been created in the
galaxy's hot gas by jets from the black hole.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
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| 2 |
Chandra X-ray Images of NGC 4374, NGC 4472, NGC 4552 & NGC 5846 |
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Results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, combined with new theoretical calculations, provide one of the best pieces of evidence yet that many supermassive black holes are spinning extremely rapidly. The images above show 4 out of the 9 large galaxies included in the Chandra study, each containing a supermassive black hole in its center. These images show pairs of huge bubbles, or cavities, in the hot gaseous atmospheres of the galaxies, created in each case by jets produced by a central supermassive black hole. Studying these cavities allows the power output of the jets to be calculated. This sets constraints on the spin of the black holes when combined with theoretical models. |
| 1 |
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| Fast Facts for NGC 4374: |
| Credit |
NASA/CXC/UFRGS/R.Nemmen et al. |
| Scale |
Image is 4.4 arcmin across |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 12h 25m 03.60s | Dec +12º 53' 14.10 |
| Constellation |
Virgo |
| Observation Date |
2000-05-19
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| Observation Time |
8 hours |
| Obs. ID |
803 |
| Color Code |
Intensity |
| Instrument |
ACIS |
| Distance Estimate |
About 55 million light years |
| Black Hole Mass |
0.6 billion solar masses |
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| 2 |
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| Fast Facts for NGC 4552: |
| Credit |
NASA/CXC/UFRGS/R.Nemmen et al. |
| Scale |
Image is 1.5 arcmin across |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 12h 35m 39.80s | Dec +12º 33' 23.00 |
| Constellation |
Virgo |
| Observation Date |
2001-04-22
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| Observation Time |
15 hours |
| Obs. ID |
2072 |
| Color Code |
Intensity |
| Instrument |
ACIS |
| Distance Estimate |
About 55 million light years |
| Black Hole Mass |
0.4 billion solar masses |
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| 3 |
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| Fast Facts for NGC 4472: |
| Credit |
NASA/CXC/UFRGS/R.Nemmen et al. |
| Scale |
Image is 4.0 arcmin across |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 12h 29m 46.90s | Dec +08º 00' 13.00 |
| Constellation |
Virgo |
| Observation Date |
2000-06-12
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| Observation Time |
6 hours |
| Obs. ID |
321 |
| Color Code |
Intensity |
| Instrument |
ACIS |
| Distance Estimate |
About 55 million light years |
| Black Hole Mass |
0.7 billion solar masses |
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| 4 |
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| Fast Facts for NGC 5846: |
| Credit |
NASA/CXC/UFRGS/R.Nemmen et al. |
| Scale |
Image is 2.6 arcmin across |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 15h 06m 29.40s | Dec +01º 36' 25.00 |
| Constellation |
Virgo |
| Observation Date |
2000-05-24
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| Observation Time |
5 hours |
| Obs. ID |
788 |
| Color Code |
Intensity |
| Instrument |
ACIS |
| Distance Estimate |
About 146 million light years |
| Black Hole Mass |
0.4 billion solar masses |
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Return to Spinning Black Holes Survey (January 10, 2008)
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