X-rays Signal Presence of Elusive Intermediate-Mass Black Hole

Chandra_268_1024

chandra_268 March 22nd, 2005

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/U. of Michigan/J.Liu et al.; Optical: NOAO/AURA/NSF/T.Boroson

This composite X-ray (red)/optical (blue & white) image of M74 highlights an unusually bright X-ray source called a ULX (see box). The ULX produces strong, nearly periodic variations in its X-ray brightness every two hours. These variations are likely produced by changes in a disk of hot gas around a black hole. More massive black holes have larger disks, which are expected to vary over longer periods. The observed two-hour variation suggests that this black hole has a mass of about 10,000 Suns, which would indicate that it belongs to a possible new class of black holes intermediate mass black holes. These black holes have masses well above known stellar-mass black holes of about 10 solar masses, and well below the multimillion solar mass black holes in the centers of galaxies.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2005/m74/

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
M74 NGC 628 ULX: CXOU J013651.1+154547
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Spiral
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Black Hole

Distance

Universescale2
32,000,000 light years
Chandra_268_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 1h 36m 41.8s
DEC = 15° 47’ 0.5”
Orientation
North is 91.8° CW
Field of View
9.1 x 9.1 arcminutes
Constellation
Pisces

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red KPNO (0.9m) Optical (R-band) 657.0 nm
Green KPNO (0.9m) Optical (V-band) 555.0 nm
Blue KPNO (0.9m) Optical (B-band) 429.0 nm
Red Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 826.7 pm
Spectrum_xray1
Red
Green
Blue
Red
Chandra_268_1280
×
ID
268
Subject Category
C.5.1.1   C.3.1.10  
Subject Name
M74, NGC 628, ULX: CXOU J013651.1+154547
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/U. of Michigan/J.Liu et al.; Optical: NOAO/AURA/NSF/T.Boroson
Release Date
2005-03-22
Lightyears
32,000,000
Redshift
32,000,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2005/m74/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
KPNO, KPNO, KPNO, Chandra
Instrument
0.9m, 0.9m, 0.9m, ACIS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue, Red
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, X-ray
Bandpass
R-band, V-band, B-band, X-ray
Central Wavelength
657, 555, 429, 0.8267
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
2000.0
Reference Value
24.17398400000, 15.78348300000
Reference Dimension
2400.00, 2400.00
Reference Pixel
1168.99564946570, 1147.62458222957
Scale
-0.00006346592, 0.00006346592
Rotation
-91.82729454850
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
m74_comp.tif
Metadata Date
2012-07-25T17:33:04-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
32,000,000 light years

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