Chandra & XMM-Newton Provide Direct Measurement of Distant Black

Chandra_563_1024

chandra_563 March 5th, 2014

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ of Michigan/R.C.Reis et al; Optical: NASA/STScI

Multiple images of a distant quasar known as RX J1131-1231 are visible in this combined view from Chandra (pink) and Hubble (red, green, and blue). The Chandra data, along with data from ESA's XMM-Newton, were used to directly measure the spin of the supermassive black hole powering this quasar. Black holes are defined by just two simple characteristics: mass and spin. At a distance of 6 billion light years, this is the most distant black hole where such a measurement has been made, allowing for an important advance in understanding how black holes grow over time.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2014/rxj1131/

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
RX J1131-1231
Subject - Distant Universe
Galaxy > Activity > AGN > Quasar
Galaxy > Type > Gravitationally Lensed

Distance

Universescale3
6,050,000,000 light years
Chandra_563_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 11h 31m 51.5s
DEC = -12° 31’ 59.4”
Orientation
North is 0.2° CCW
Field of View
1.2 x 0.9 arcminutes
Constellation
Crater

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Hubble (NICMOS) Infrared (Near-IR) 1.6 µm
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical (I-band) 814.0 nm
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (V-band) 555.0 nm
Magenta Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 826.7 pm
Spectrum_xray1
Red
Green
Blue
Magenta
Chandra_563_1280
×
ID
563
Subject Category
D.5.3.2.1   D.5.1.8  
Subject Name
RX J1131-1231
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ of Michigan/R.C.Reis et al; Optical: NASA/STScI
Release Date
2014-03-05
Lightyears
6,050,000,000
Redshift
0.658
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2014/rxj1131/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble, Hubble, Hubble, Chandra
Instrument
NICMOS, ACS, ACS, ACIS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue, Magenta
Band
Infrared, Optical, Optical, X-ray
Bandpass
Near-IR, I-band, V-band, X-ray
Central Wavelength
1600, 814, 555, 0.8267
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
172.9644271, -12.5331568
Reference Dimension
3600.0, 2865.0
Reference Pixel
1801.0, 1433.5
Scale
5.50253e-06, 5.5025251e-06
Rotation
0.22
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
WCS retrieved using CXCs PinpointWCS
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
rxj1131.tif
Metadata Date
2014-03-05T14:03:23-05:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
6,050,000,000 light years

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