Blast from Black Hole in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Chandra_620_1024

chandra_620 February 2nd, 2016

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ of Hertfordshire/M.Hardcastle et al., Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA

The Pictor A galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center, and material falling onto the black hole is driving an enormous beam, or jet, of particles at nearly the speed of light into intergalactic space. This composite image contains X-ray data obtained by Chandra at various times over 15 years (blue) and radio data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (red). By studying the details of the structure seen in both X-rays and radio waves, scientists seek to gain a deeper understanding of these huge collimated blasts.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2016/pictora/

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
Pictor A
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Component > Central Black Hole
Galaxy > Activity > AGN

Distance

Universescale3
480,000,000 light years
Chandra_620_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 5h 19m 46.9s
DEC = -45° 46’ 36.6”
Orientation
North is 0.2° CW
Field of View
10.1 x 10.1 arcminutes
Constellation
Pictor

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 826.7 pm
Red ATCA Radio (Radio) 60.0 mm
Spectrum_xray2
Blue
Red
Chandra_620_1280
×
ID
620
Subject Category
C.5.4.6   C.5.3.2  
Subject Name
Pictor A
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ of Hertfordshire/M.Hardcastle et al., Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA
Release Date
2016-02-02
Lightyears
480,000,000
Redshift
480,000,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2016/pictora/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, ATCA
Instrument
ACIS, -
Color Assignment
Blue, Red
Band
X-ray, Radio
Bandpass
X-ray, Radio
Central Wavelength
0.8267, 6e7
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
79.9455557, -45.7768467
Reference Dimension
3600.0, 3600.0
Reference Pixel
1801.0, 1801.0
Scale
4.6724e-05, 4.6723974e-05
Rotation
-0.24
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
pictora.tif
Metadata Date
2016-02-02
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
480,000,000 light years

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