X-Rays From The Galactic Center
Credit & Copyright: G.Garmire (PSU),
F. Baganoff (MIT), et al.,
CXO,
NASA
Explanation:
Exploring quasars
and
active galaxies in the distant
universe, astronomers have come to believe that
most galaxies have massive black holes at their centers.
Swirling
stars and a strong, variable
radio source offer convincing evidence that even our own Milky Way
galaxy's center harbors such a
bizarre object,
a mere 30,000 light-years away.
Still, it has long been realized that if a massive black hole
lurks there
it should produce X-rays
- which have not previously been identified.
Now, though relatively faint,
the missing X-ray source may have been found.
Taking advantage of the sensitive Chandra Observatory
astronomers have recorded this false-color
X-ray image of the Galactic Center.
Embedded in a diffuse cloud of
X-ray hot gas,
the white dot at the center corresponds to an X-ray
source at exactly the position of the strong radio source
and suspected black hole.
Other individual X-ray sources are also present in
the picture which spans about 10 light-years at the distance
of the galactic center.
With radio and X-ray emission generated by infalling material,
the Milky Way's central black hole is thought to have a mass of
over 2 million suns.
News: Lunar Eclipse Tonight!
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
