An Active Black Hole in the "Eye of Sauron"

Chandra_477_1024

chandra_477 March 10th, 2011

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/J.Wang et al.; Optical: Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, La Palma/Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope, Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA

This composite image features the central region of the

spiral galaxy NGC 4151. In the pupil of the "eye," X-rays (blue) from

Chandra are combined with optical data (yellow) showing positively

charged hydrogen. The red around the pupil reveals neutral hydrogen

detected by radio observations. A study has shown that the X-ray

emission was likely caused by an outburst powered by the supermassive

black hole located in the white region in the center of the galaxy.

Evidence for this idea comes from the elongation of the X-rays running

from the top left to the bottom right and details of the X-ray spectrum.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2011/n4151/

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
NGC 4151
Subject - Distant Universe
Galaxy > Activity > AGN

Distance

Universescale2
43,000,000 light years
Chandra_477_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 12h 10m 32.5s
DEC = 39° 24’ 17.7”
Orientation
North is 0.1° CCW
Field of View
3.1 x 3.1 arcminutes
Constellation
Canes Venatici

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 826.7 pm
Magenta VLA (VLA) Radio (L-band) 214.0 mm
Yellow JKT (1m) Optical (H-alpha) 659.4 nm
Spectrum_xray2
Blue
Magenta
Yellow
Chandra_477_1280
×
ID
477
Subject Category
D.5.3.2  
Subject Name
NGC 4151
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/J.Wang et al.; Optical: Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, La Palma/Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope, Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA
Release Date
2011-03-10
Lightyears
43,000,000
Redshift
43,000,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2011/n4151/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, VLA, Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope
Instrument
ACIS, VLA, 1m
Color Assignment
Blue, Magenta, Yellow
Band
X-ray, Radio, Optical
Bandpass
X-ray, L-band, H-alpha
Central Wavelength
0.8267, 2.14e8, 659.4
Start Time
2008-03-27T03:14:25, 1993-04-23, -
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
182.6352936, 39.4049255
Reference Dimension
3600.0, 3600.0
Reference Pixel
1801.0, 1801.0
Scale
1.42128e-05, 1.4212799e-05
Rotation
0.13
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
n4151.tif
Metadata Date
2012-08-01
Metadata Version
1.2
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
43,000,000 light years

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