Matter Near Black Hole Gets Second Lease On Life

Chandra_65_1024

chandra_65 March 25th, 2003

Credit: Illustration: CXC/M.Weiss; X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/G.Chartas

Chandra observations reveal evidence of high-speed winds blowing gas away from the supermassive black hole that powers this quasar. As gas swirls in a disk toward the black hole, it is heated to millions of degrees Celsius and produces intense X-radiation. The pressure of the X-rays pushes matter away from the inner part of the disk in much the same way as pressure from a garden hose pushes dirt off a driveway. The double image of APM 08279 is caused by the bending of its light by an intervening galaxy, an effect called gravitational lensing. This effect also magnifies the quasars light by 100 fold, allowing for a detailed study of its properties even though it is 12 billion light years from Earth.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/apm08279/

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

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

View Options

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
APM 08279+5255
Subject - Distant Universe
Galaxy > Activity > AGN > Quasar

Distance

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 8h 31m 41.6s
DEC = 52° 45’ 16.8”
Constellation
Lynx

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Pseudocolor Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 826.7 pm
Spectrum_xray1
Pseudocolor
Chandra_65_1280
×
ID
65
Subject Category
D.5.3.2.1  
Subject Name
APM 08279+5255
Credits
Illustration: CXC/M.Weiss; X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/G.Chartas
Release Date
2003-03-25
Lightyears
1.2e10
Redshift
1.2e10
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/apm08279/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra
Instrument
ACIS
Color Assignment
Pseudocolor
Band
X-ray
Bandpass
X-ray
Central Wavelength
0.8267
Start Time
2002-02-24T17:13:49
Integration Time
90270
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
127.923333, 52.754667
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Position
FITS Header
Notes
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
apm08279_xray.tif
Metadata Date
2012-03-30
Metadata Version
1.2
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×

There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

Providers | Sign In