NASA的哈勃和钱德拉发现一对超大质量黑洞
就像两位相扑选手对峙一样，我们观测到了距离最近的一对超大质量黑洞。这两个黑洞相距约300光年，是通过NASA的哈勃太空望远镜和钱德拉X射线天文台探测到的。这些黑洞深埋在一对正在碰撞的星系中，由内落的气体和尘埃提供燃料，使其作为活跃星系核（AGN）发出明亮的光芒。
活跃星系NGC 1275
2023年1月26日 Active Galaxy NGC 1275 Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage, A. Fabian (University of Cambridge, UK) Explanation: Active galaxy NGC 1275 is the central, dominant member of the large and relatively nearby Perseus Cluster of Galaxies. Wild-looking at visible wavelengths, the active galaxy is also a prodigious source of x-rays and radio emission. NGC 1275 accretes matter as entire galaxies fall into it, ultimately feeding a supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s core. This color composite image made from Hubble Space Telescope data recorded during 2006. It highlights the resulting galactic debris and filaments of glowing gas, some up to 20,000 light-years long. The filaments persist in NGC 1275, even though the turmoil of galactic collisions should destroy them. What keeps the filaments together?…
半人马座A
2022年3月17日 Centaurus A Image Credit & Copyright: David Alemazkour Explanation: A mere 11 million light-years away, Centaurus A is the closest active galaxy to planet Earth. Spanning over 60,000 light-years, the peculiar elliptical galaxy also known as NGC 5128, is featured in this sharp telescopic view. Centaurus A is apparently the result of a collision of two otherwise normal galaxies resulting in a fantastic jumble of star clusters and imposing dark dust lanes. Near the galaxy’s center, leftover cosmic debris is steadily being consumed by a central black hole with a billion times the mass of the Sun. As in other active galaxies, that process likely generates the enormous radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy radiated by Centaurus A. Tomorrow’s picture: pixels in space 半人马座A 影像提供与版权:…
跳舞的幽灵：活跃星系的弯曲喷流
2021年9月1日 Dancing Ghosts: Curved Jets from Active Galaxies Image Credit: Jayanne English & Ray Norris, EMU-ASKAP, DES; Text: Jayanne English (U. Manitoba) Explanation: Why would galaxies emit jets that look like ghosts? And furthermore, why do they appear to be dancing? The curled and fluffy jets from the supermassive black holes at the centers of two host galaxies (top center and lower left) are unlike anything seen before. They were found by astronomers using the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope when creating maps tracing the evolution of galaxies. Images preceding this Evolutionary Map of the Universe survey only showed amorphous blobs. Eventually, comparisons of relative amounts of energy emitted revealed the glowing elongated structures were created by electrons streaming around magnetic field…