1. Tour of Sagittarius A*
QuicktimeMPEG Astronomers have long known that the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy is a particularly poor eater. The fuel for this black hole, known as Sagittarius A* (or Sgr A* for short), comes from powerful winds blown off nearby stars. Scientists have previously calculated that Sgr A* should consume about one percent of the fuel carried in the winds. However, it now appears that Sgr A* consumes much less than even that. It only ingests about one percent of that one percent. Why does it consume so little? A theoretical model based on these new deep data seen in this Chandra image may provide the answer. It turns out that there is an inner and outer region around the black hole. Pressure flowing outward causes nearly all of the gas to move away from the black hole. This in turn starves the black hole of much of its fuel, and this is why astronomers have seen so little activity from this, our closest supermassive black hole.
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(NASA/CXC/MIT/F.K. Baganoff et al.)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG Astronomers have long known that the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy is a particularly poor eater. The fuel for this black hole, known as Sagittarius A* (or Sgr A* for short), comes from powerful winds blown off nearby stars. Scientists have previously calculated that Sgr A* should consume about one percent of the fuel carried in the winds. However, it now appears that Sgr A* consumes much less than even that. It only ingests about one percent of that one percent. Why does it consume so little? A theoretical model based on these new deep data seen in this Chandra image may provide the answer. It turns out that there is an inner and outer region around the black hole. Pressure flowing outward causes nearly all of the gas to move away from the black hole. This in turn starves the black hole of much of its fuel, and this is why astronomers have seen so little activity from this, our closest supermassive black hole.
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(NASA/CXC/MIT/F.K. Baganoff et al.)
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: Sagittarius A*
2. Tour of NGC 6240
QuicktimeMPEG NGC 6240 is a system in which two supermassive black holes are a mere 3,000 light years apart, virtually nothing in astronomical terms. These black holes -- the two bright point-like sources in the middle -- are in such close proximity, scientists think they are in the act of spiraling toward each other. This is a process that began about 30 million years ago. It's estimated that the two black holes will eventually drift together and merge into a larger black hole some tens to hundreds of millions of years from now.
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(X-ray (NASA/CXC/MIT/C.Canizares, M.Nowak); Optical (NASA/STScI))
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG NGC 6240 is a system in which two supermassive black holes are a mere 3,000 light years apart, virtually nothing in astronomical terms. These black holes -- the two bright point-like sources in the middle -- are in such close proximity, scientists think they are in the act of spiraling toward each other. This is a process that began about 30 million years ago. It's estimated that the two black holes will eventually drift together and merge into a larger black hole some tens to hundreds of millions of years from now.
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(X-ray (NASA/CXC/MIT/C.Canizares, M.Nowak); Optical (NASA/STScI))
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: NGC 6240
3. Tour of GRS 1915
QuicktimeMPEG We start with an optical and infrared image that shows the crowded area around the object known as GRS 1915+105, or GRS 1915 for short. Next is a close-up of the Chandra image of GRS 1915, which is located near the plane of the Milky Way. GRS 1915 is a so-called micro-quasar that contains a black hole about fourteen times the mass of the sun, which in turn is pulling material off a nearby companion star. With its high-energy transmission grating, Chandra has observed GRS 1915 eleven times since 1999. These studies reveal that a jet from the black hole in GRS 1915 may be periodically choked off when a hot wind is driven off the disk surrounding the black hole. Conversely, once the wind dies down, the jet can re-emerge. These results suggest that this type of black hole may have a mechanism for regulating the rate at which it grows.
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(X-ray (NASA/CXC/Harvard/J.Neilsen); Optical & IR (Palomar DSS2))
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG We start with an optical and infrared image that shows the crowded area around the object known as GRS 1915+105, or GRS 1915 for short. Next is a close-up of the Chandra image of GRS 1915, which is located near the plane of the Milky Way. GRS 1915 is a so-called micro-quasar that contains a black hole about fourteen times the mass of the sun, which in turn is pulling material off a nearby companion star. With its high-energy transmission grating, Chandra has observed GRS 1915 eleven times since 1999. These studies reveal that a jet from the black hole in GRS 1915 may be periodically choked off when a hot wind is driven off the disk surrounding the black hole. Conversely, once the wind dies down, the jet can re-emerge. These results suggest that this type of black hole may have a mechanism for regulating the rate at which it grows.
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(X-ray (NASA/CXC/Harvard/J.Neilsen); Optical & IR (Palomar DSS2))
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: GRS 1915+105
4. Tour of M81
QuicktimeMPEG This image of the mammoth spiral galaxy M81, located about 12 million light years away, contains data from four different NASA satellites. First we see infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, followed by optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope. The Galex Satellite shows us what M81 looks like in ultraviolet emission. And finally, x-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory reveals what is going on at higher energies. At the center of M81, there is a supermassive black hole that is about 70 million times more massive than the sun. A new study involving Chandra and other telescopes helps astronomers better understand how this black hole is growing.
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(X-ray: NASA/CXC/Wisconsin/D.Pooley & CfA/A.Zezas; Optical: NASA/ESA/CfA/A.Zezas; UV: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA/J.Huchra et al.; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG This image of the mammoth spiral galaxy M81, located about 12 million light years away, contains data from four different NASA satellites. First we see infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, followed by optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope. The Galex Satellite shows us what M81 looks like in ultraviolet emission. And finally, x-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory reveals what is going on at higher energies. At the center of M81, there is a supermassive black hole that is about 70 million times more massive than the sun. A new study involving Chandra and other telescopes helps astronomers better understand how this black hole is growing.
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(X-ray: NASA/CXC/Wisconsin/D.Pooley & CfA/A.Zezas; Optical: NASA/ESA/CfA/A.Zezas; UV: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA/J.Huchra et al.; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA)
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: M81
5. Images of M33 X-7
QuicktimeMPEG This sequence begins with a wide-field optical image from Kitt Peak of M33, a spiral galaxy about 3 million light years from Earth, and then zooms into a view from the Gemini telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Next, the view zooms into an even smaller field, from the Hubble Space Telescope, that includes M33 X-7, the most massive known black hole to be formed from the collapse of a star. The final image is a composite of the region around M33 X-7 that contains both the Chandra and Hubble data.
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(Kitt Peak: NOAO/AURA/NSF/T.A.Rector; Gemini: AURA/Gemini Obs./SDSU/J.Orosz et al.; HST: NASA/STScI/SDSU/J.Orosz et al.; Chandra: NASA/CXC/CfA/P.Plucinsky et al.)
QuicktimeMPEG This sequence begins with a wide-field optical image from Kitt Peak of M33, a spiral galaxy about 3 million light years from Earth, and then zooms into a view from the Gemini telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Next, the view zooms into an even smaller field, from the Hubble Space Telescope, that includes M33 X-7, the most massive known black hole to be formed from the collapse of a star. The final image is a composite of the region around M33 X-7 that contains both the Chandra and Hubble data.
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(Kitt Peak: NOAO/AURA/NSF/T.A.Rector; Gemini: AURA/Gemini Obs./SDSU/J.Orosz et al.; HST: NASA/STScI/SDSU/J.Orosz et al.; Chandra: NASA/CXC/CfA/P.Plucinsky et al.)
6. Comparing Different Black Holes
QuicktimeMPEG
This sequence shows four black holes from the Bootes field. The first two black holes are obscured by thick rings of gas. Because such a ring blocks certain types of radiation, these black holes are only are seen in X-ray (blue) and infrared (red) light. The last two black holes are not enshrouded by this ring of material, and, therefore, emit X-ray, infrared, and optical (green) radiation. These objects helps astronomers better understand the properties of these monster black holes.
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(X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Hickox et al.; Infrared: NASA/JPL/Caltech/P.Eisenhardt & D.Stern et al.; Optical: NOAO/B.Jannuzi & A.Dey et al.)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG
This sequence shows four black holes from the Bootes field. The first two black holes are obscured by thick rings of gas. Because such a ring blocks certain types of radiation, these black holes are only are seen in X-ray (blue) and infrared (red) light. The last two black holes are not enshrouded by this ring of material, and, therefore, emit X-ray, infrared, and optical (green) radiation. These objects helps astronomers better understand the properties of these monster black holes.
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(X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Hickox et al.; Infrared: NASA/JPL/Caltech/P.Eisenhardt & D.Stern et al.; Optical: NOAO/B.Jannuzi & A.Dey et al.)
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: XRF 060218
7. Animation of Eruption from Supermassive Black Hole
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This animation depicts an eruption caused by a supermassive black hole. Gas and dust (reddish-brown disk) are being pulled around by the enormous gravity of the supermassive black hole, which is buried in the center of a large elliptical galaxy. The animation then zooms out to show the full view of the galaxy, which is surrounded by hot gas (red) that pervades the galaxy cluster. White jets, fueled from material falling onto the black hole, then erupt from the black hole and push gas backwards to create the dark cavities in the cluster gas.
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View Stills
(NASA/CXC/A.Hobart)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG
This animation depicts an eruption caused by a supermassive black hole. Gas and dust (reddish-brown disk) are being pulled around by the enormous gravity of the supermassive black hole, which is buried in the center of a large elliptical galaxy. The animation then zooms out to show the full view of the galaxy, which is surrounded by hot gas (red) that pervades the galaxy cluster. White jets, fueled from material falling onto the black hole, then erupt from the black hole and push gas backwards to create the dark cavities in the cluster gas.
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View Stills
(NASA/CXC/A.Hobart)
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: MS 0735.6+7421
8. Simulation of Jet Evolution
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This simulation illustrates the evolution of a magnetized jet of high-energy particles as it moves at near the speed of light through a low-density gas. Scientists believe that the western jet in XTE J1550-564 developed its cometary shape by a similar process.
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(I.Tregillis (Univ. of Minnesota/LANL), T.Jones (Univ. of Minnesota), D.Ryu (Chungnam National Univ.y, South Korea))
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG
This simulation illustrates the evolution of a magnetized jet of high-energy particles as it moves at near the speed of light through a low-density gas. Scientists believe that the western jet in XTE J1550-564 developed its cometary shape by a similar process.
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(I.Tregillis (Univ. of Minnesota/LANL), T.Jones (Univ. of Minnesota), D.Ryu (Chungnam National Univ.y, South Korea))
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: XTE J1550-564
9. Time-lapse Movie of Chandra Images (unlabeled)
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This time-lapse movie made from observations over a four-year period shows the black hole XTE J1550-564 (center), the approaching eastern jet, and the receding western jet (right). In four years the jets moved about two light years from the black hole.
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(NASA/CXC)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG
This time-lapse movie made from observations over a four-year period shows the black hole XTE J1550-564 (center), the approaching eastern jet, and the receding western jet (right). In four years the jets moved about two light years from the black hole.
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(NASA/CXC)
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: XTE J1550-564
10. Time-lapse Movie of Chandra Images (labeled)
QuicktimeMPEG
This time-lapse movie made from observations over a four-year period shows the black hole XTE J1550-564 (center), the approaching eastern jet, and the receding western jet (right). In four years the jets moved about two light years from the black hole.
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(NASA/CXC)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG
This time-lapse movie made from observations over a four-year period shows the black hole XTE J1550-564 (center), the approaching eastern jet, and the receding western jet (right). In four years the jets moved about two light years from the black hole.
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(NASA/CXC)
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: XTE J1550-564
Revised: December 07, 2011