NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection

X-Rays From The Galactic Center

Exploring quasars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] and active galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in the distant universe, astronomers have come to believe that most galaxies have massive black holes at their centers. Swirling stars [ http://adsabs.harva…] and a strong, variable radio source [ http://www.aoc.nrao…] offer convincing evidence that even our own Milky Way galaxy's center [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] harbors such a bizarre object [ http://cfpa.berkele…], a mere 30,000 light-years away. Still, it has long been realized that if a massive black hole lurks [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] there it should produce X-rays [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] - which have not previously been identified. Now, though relatively faint, the missing X-ray source may have been found. Taking advantage of the sensitive Chandra Observatory astronomers have recorded [ http://www1.msfc.na…] this false-color X-ray image of [ http://www1.msfc.na…] the Galactic Center. Embedded in a diffuse cloud of X-ray hot gas [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], the white dot at the center corresponds to an X-ray source at exactly the position of the strong radio source and suspected black hole. Other individual X-ray sources are also present in the picture which spans about 10 light-years at the distance of the galactic center [ http://rsd-www.nrl.…]. With radio and X-ray emission generated by infalling material, the Milky Way's central black hole is thought to have a mass of over 2 million suns.

G.Garmire (PSU [ http://www.astro.ps…]), F. Baganoff (MIT [ http://space.mit.ed…]), et al., CXO [ http://chandra.nasa…], NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/]

galactic center

x-ray

black hole

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

http://antwrp.gsfc.…

SPD-APOD-ap000120