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Credit & Copyright: X-Ray:
NASA /
CXC /
D. Hudson,
T. Reiprich et al.
(AIfA);
Radio: NRAO / VLA/ NRL
Explanation:
What's happening in the middle of this massive galaxy?
There, two bright sources at the center of
this
composite x-ray (blue)/radio (pink) image are thought to be co-orbiting supermassive black holes powering
the giant radio source
3C 75.
Surrounded by multimillion degree x-ray emitting gas, and
blasting out jets of relativistic particles the
supermassive black holes
are separated by 25,000 light-years.
At the cores of
two merging galaxies in the
Abell 400
galaxy cluster they are some 300 million light-years away.
Astronomers conclude
that these two supermassive
black
holes are bound together by gravity in a binary system
in part because
the jets' consistent swept back appearance is most likely due to their
common motion as they speed through the
hot cluster gas
at 1200 kilometers per second.
Such spectacular cosmic mergers are thought to be common in crowded
galaxy cluster environments
in the distant universe.
In their final stages the mergers are expected to be intense
sources of gravitational waves.
Radio: NRAO / VLA/ NRL
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: black hole - 3C 75 - colliding galaxies
Publications with words: black hole - 3C 75 - colliding galaxies
See also:
- APOD: 2024 November 24 Á Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
- APOD: 2024 October 1 Á Porphyrion: The Longest Known Black Hole Jets
- APOD: 2024 July 30 Á Arp 142: Interacting Galaxies from Webb
- APOD: 2024 June 16 Á Animation: Black Hole Destroys Star
- Simulation: Two Black Holes Merge
- The Galaxy, the Jet, and a Famous Black Hole
- APOD: 2024 May 8 Á Visualization: A Black Hole Accretion Disk