|
Collection:
|
|
NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
|
|
Title:
|
|
Infrared Detective to the Rescue
Title
Infrared Detective to the Rescue
Title
|
|
Description:
|
|
In a collaborative effort between NASA's three Great Observatories, astronomers have solved a cosmic mystery by identifying some of the oldest and most distant black holes.
The two rows of this image show two patches of sky, both contained within the field known as the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, or GOODS. In the first column, observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory show high-energy emissions believed to trace the presence of supermassive black holes, which power the bright cores of distant galaxies.
The mystery emerges in the second column. While most of the black hole candidates observed by Chandra could easily be identified within host galaxies seen by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, several of them, like the two pictured here, showed no sign of a galaxy in visible light.
The images in the third column, from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, show the same region in infrared light. In these images, the otherwise invisible galaxies reappear. These unusually "reddened" objects may be shrouded in dense clouds of obscuring dust, or may be remarkably distant compared to other galaxies in the same field. Additional Spitzer observations later this year should help astronomers determine the nature of these unusual objects.
Description
In a collaborative effort between NASA's three Great Observatories, astronomers have solved a cosmic mystery by identifying some of the oldest and most distant black holes.
The two rows of this image show two patches of sky, both contained within the field known as the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, or GOODS. In the first column, observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory show high-energy emissions believed to trace the presence of supermassive black holes, which power the bright cores of distant galaxies.
The mystery emerges in the second column. While most of the black hole candidates observed by Chandra could easily be identified within host galaxies seen by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, several of them, like the two pictured here, showed no sign of a galaxy in visible light.
The images in the third column, from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, show the same region in infrared light. In these images, the otherwise invisible galaxies reappear. These unusually "reddened" objects may be shrouded in dense clouds of obscuring dust, or may be remarkably distant compared to other galaxies in the same field. Additional Spitzer observations later this year should help astronomers determine the nature of these unusual objects.
Description
|
|
Release Date:
|
|
2004/06/01
Release_Date
2004/06/01
Release Date
|
|
Press Release:
|
Spitzer Leads NASA's Great Observatories To Uncover Black Holes, Other Hidden Objects [ http://www.spitzer.…]
Press_Release
Spitzer Leads NASA's Great Observatories To Uncover Black Holes, Other Hidden Objects [ http://www.spitzer.…] Press Release
|
|
Release Credit:
|
|
NASA/JPL-Caltech/STS cI
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/STS cI
Release Credit
|
|
Object type:
|
|
Black holes
Object_type
Black holes
Object type
|
|
Instrument:
|
|
IRAC
Instrument
IRAC
Instrument
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Visible Light
facet_what
Visible Light
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
TRACE
facet_what
TRACE
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO)
facet_what
Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO)
facet_what
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
|
|
Image #:
|
|
ssc2004-10a
Image_#
ssc2004-10a
Image #
|
|
original url:
|
original_url
original url
|
|
UID:
|
|
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2004-10 a
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2004-10 a
UID
|
