nhsc_nhsc2015-001b March 25th, 2015
Credit: ESA/ATG medialab
Astronomers studying the supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy IRAS F11119+3257 have found proof that the winds blowing from the black hole are sweeping away the host galaxys reservoir of raw star-building material.
This finding was made using ESAs Herschel space observatory, together with the Suzaku X-ray astronomy satellite. Combining these data, the astronomers detected the winds being driven by the central black hole in X-rays, and their global effect, pushing the galactic gas away, at infrared wavelengths.
This artists impression shows the outflow of molecular gas (red) in a galaxy hosting a supermassive black hole at its core.
Provider: Herschel Space Observatory
Image Source: https://www.herschel.caltech.edu/image/nhsc2015-001b
Curator: NASA Herschel Science Center, Pasadena, CA, USA
Image Use Policy: http://www.herschel.caltech.edu/index.php?SiteSection=ImageUsePolicy
Detailed color mapping information coming soon...
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