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Will the Real Monster Black Hole Please Stand Up?
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nustar150108
The real monster black hole is revealed in this new image from NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array of colliding galaxies Arp 299. In the center panel, the NuSTAR high-energy X-ray data appear in various colors overlaid on a visible-light image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The panel on the left shows the NuSTAR data alone, while the visible-light image is on the far right.
Before NuSTAR, astronomers knew that the each of the two galaxies in Arp 299 held a supermassive black hole at its heart, but they weren't sure if one or both were actively chomping on gas in a process called accretion. The new high-energy X-ray data reveal that the supermassive black hole in the galaxy on the right is indeed the hungry one, releasing energetic X-rays as it consumes gas.
In this image, X-rays with energies of 4 to 6 kiloelectron volts are red, energies of 6 to 12 kiloelectron volts are green, and 12 to 25 kiloelectron volts are blue.
About the Object
Color Mapping
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
X-ray | 5.0 keV | NuSTAR |
X-ray | 8.0 keV | NuSTAR |
X-ray | 20.0 keV | NuSTAR |
Optical | 814 nm | Hubble ACS |
Optical | 435 nm | Hubble ACS |
Astrometrics