Wind and Reflections from a Black Hole

Chandra_92_1024

chandra_92 July 9th, 2003

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/UCSB/P.Ogle

A composite Chandra X-ray (blue/green) and Hubble optical (red) image of NGC 1068 shows hot gas blowing away from a central supermassive black hole at speeds averaging about 1 million miles per hour. The elongated shape of the gas cloud is thought to be due to the funneling effect of a torus, or doughnut-shaped cloud, of cool gas and dust that surrounds the black hole. The X-rays are scattered and reflected X-rays that are probably coming from a hidden disk of hot gas formed as matter swirls very near the black hole. Regions of intense star formation in the inner spiral arms of the galaxy are highlighted by the optical emission.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/ngc1068/

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

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

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Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
NGC 1068 • M77

Distance Details Distance

Universescale2
50,000,000 light years
Chandra_92_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 2h 42m 40.6s
DEC = 0° 0’ 49.1”
Orientation
North is 0.1° CW
Field of View
0.6 x 0.6 arcminutes
Constellation
Cetus

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Hubble (WFPC2) Optical (NII) 658.0 nm
Green Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 2.06875 nm
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 1.18214285714286 nm
Spectrum_xray1
Red
Green
Blue
Chandra_92_1280
×
ID
92
Subject Category
Subject Name
NGC 1068, M77
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/UCSB/P.Ogle
Release Date
2003-07-09
Lightyears
5.0e7
Redshift
0.003786
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/ngc1068/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
HST, Chandra, Chandra
Instrument
WFPC2, ACIS, ACIS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue
Band
Optical, X-ray, X-ray
Bandpass
NII, X-ray, X-ray
Central Wavelength
658, 2.06875, 1.18214285714286
Start Time
1995-01-17T06:30:17, 2000-12-04T18:12:56, 2000-12-04T18:12:56
Integration Time
900, 46290, 46290
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
40.6691858, -0.0136389
Reference Dimension
2400.0, 2400.0
Reference Pixel
1201.0, 1201.0
Scale
4.15548e-06, 4.1554847e-06
Rotation
-0.09
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 Center
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
ngc1068_comp.tif
Resource URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/ngc1068/ngc1068_comp.tif
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2012-07-30T15:03:56-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
50,000,000 light years

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