Q&A: Black Holes

Q:
What kind of radiation is used to gather information on black holes, and how?

A:
The Chandra X-ray Observatory and other X-ray telescopes gather information on black holes by studying the X-radiation from hot matter swirling toward a black hole. Gamma ray telescopes cannot pinpoint the sources as accurately, but can obtain important information about even higher energy radiation from matter in the vicinity of black holes. See our listing under "Black Holes" in the Field Guide at http://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/black_holes.html