Chandra Proves Black Hole Influence is Far Reaching

Chandra_308_1024

chandra_308 December 1st, 2005

Credit: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.

An accumulation of 270 hours of Chandra observations reveals evidence of the turmoil that has wracked the central region of the cluster for hundreds of millions of years. The cluster contains thousands of galaxies immersed in a vast cloud of multimillion degree gas with the mass equivalent of trillions of suns. The enormous bright loops, ripples, and jet-like streaks apparent in the image can be linked to explosive activity generated by gas swirling toward the supermassive black hole (white spot) in the giant central galaxy, NGC 1275. Many of these features extend well beyond the galaxy where they heat the cluster gas and affect the evolution of the cluster. The dark blue filaments near the center are likely due to a galaxy that has been torn apart and is falling inward. Eventually, some of the gas from the doomed galaxy will be captured by the supermassive black hole in NGC 1275, fueling still more explosive activity.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2005/perseus/

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

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

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Perseus Cluster
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Grouping > Cluster
Galaxy > Component > Central Black Hole

Distance

Universescale3
250,000,000 light years
Chandra_308_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 3h 19m 41.8s
DEC = 41° 33’ 39.2”
Orientation
North is 4.4° CW
Field of View
5.7 x 5.4 arcminutes
Constellation
Perseus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (Soft X-ray) 1.65 nm
Green Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (Medium X-ray) 780.0 pm
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (Hard X-ray) 280.0 pm
Spectrum_xray1
Red
Green
Blue
Chandra_308_1280
×
ID
308
Subject Category
C.5.5.3.   C.5.4.6.  
Subject Name
Perseus Cluster
Credits
NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.
Release Date
2005-12-01
Lightyears
250,000,000
Redshift
250,000,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2005/perseus/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, Chandra, Chandra
Instrument
ACIS, ACIS, ACIS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue
Band
X-ray, X-ray, X-ray
Bandpass
Soft X-ray, Medium X-ray, Hard X-ray
Central Wavelength
1.65, 0.78, 0.28
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
2000.0
Reference Value
49.92423630000, 41.56090160000
Reference Dimension
2100.00, 1995.00
Reference Pixel
1455.12828931150, 23.35253061053
Scale
-0.00004542451, 0.00004542451
Rotation
-4.39145149078
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
World Coordinate System resolved using PinpointWCS 0.9.0 revision 213+ by the Chandra X-ray Center
Creator (Curator)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu
Name
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Email
cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu
Telephone
617.496.7941
Address
60 Garden St.
City
Cambridge
State/Province
MA
Postal Code
02138
Country
USA
Rights
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Publisher
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
perseus.tif
Metadata Date
2012-07-25T17:31:38-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
250,000,000 light years

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