Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO, Optical: ESO/La Silla

In this image, X-ray contours are overlaid on an optical image. The X-ray contours and the colors in the optical image represent brightness levels of the X-ray and optical emission, respectively. When viewed with an optical telescope this galaxy, located 2.5 billion light years from Earth, appears normal. But the Chandra observation discovered an unusually strong source of X rays concentrated in the central regions of the galaxy. The X-ray source could be another example of a veiled black hole associated with a Type 2 Quasar. This discovery adds to a growing body of evidence that our census of energetic black hole sources in galaxies is far from complete.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2000/0312/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html