Archivo de imágenes de Hubble

Disco gigante de gas frío y polvo alimenta un posible agujero negro en el núcleo de NGC 4261

A Hubble Space Telescope image of a giant disk of cold gas and dust fueling a possible black hole at the core of the galaxy. Estimated to be 300 light years across, the disk is tipped enough (about 60 degrees) to provide astronomers with a clear view of its bright hub, which pres...

Fecha
Jan 1, 1992
Misión
Hubble Space Telescope
ID de archivo
hubblesite-images-1992-27-81-image
Por

A Hubble Space Telescope image of a giant disk of cold gas and dust fueling a possible black hole at the core of the galaxy. Estimated to be 300 light years across, the disk is tipped enough (about 60 degrees) to provide astronomers with a clear view of its bright hub, which presumably harbors the black hole. The dark, dusty disk represents a cold outer region which extends inwards to an ultra hot accretion disk within a few hundred million miles of the suspected black hole. This disk feeds matter into the black hole, where gravity compresses and heats the material. Some hot gas squirts out from the blackhole's near- vicinity to create the radio jets. The jets are aligned perpendicular to the disk, like an axle through a wheel. This provides strong circumstantial evidence for the existence of a black hole "central" engine in NGC 4261. The image was taken at visible wavelengths with the Wide Field /Planetary Camera in PC mode.

Credits

Credit: Walter Jaffe/Leiden Observatory, Holland Ford/JHU/STScI, and NASA

Detalles de la imagen

About The Object
Object NameNGC 4261
R.A. Position12h 19m 23.25s
Dec. Position05° 49' 32.49"

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Fuente

La imagen y el material de referencia se acreditan al archivo oficial de la misión enlazado a continuación.

Ver en NASA.gov

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