Chandra adds a neighborhood view to the very first picture of a black hole



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Orange spots in a new image of NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory add another dimension to the very first image of a black hole. This additional image offers an enlarged perspective of the same extremely dense structure of the now viral image, helping scientists to learn more about what is happening in the vicinity of the black hole.

The supermassive black hole shown in both images is located in the elliptical galaxy Messier 87. It's a monster; this black hole has a mass several billion times greater than that of the sun of the Earth.

To provide a bit more perspective on this structure and the powerful effect it has on the issue, scientists collaborating with the Horizon Telescope Event (EHT) captured a different view of that same target. They did it in parallel with the EHT observations made in April 2017, according to A declaration published the same day as the photo of the black hole.

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The NASA Chandra X-ray observatory spent 30,000 seconds observing the supermassive black hole located in the center of Messier 87 during the observation by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). These radiological data, associated with the new EHT radio image released on April 10, will help scientists learn about high energy emissions as well as the physics of accumulation and energy loss. ejecting the black hole events at the horizon.

(Image: © NASA / CXC / Villanova University / J. Neilsen)

To capture the incredible image of the shadow of a supermassive black hole, the EHT project has collected data from a global set of radio antennas. On Wednesday, April 10, the incredible feat of finally being able to image this enigmatic structure astonished scientists and the public.

But another instrument in space, Chandra, observes for two decades the galaxy of the black hole, collecting data in a different wavelength: X-rays. Astronomers have watched Chandra watch Messier 87 (M87) for about 30 000 seconds, or about 8.3 hours, while the network of EHT dishes was taking its observations from the ground.

the four ultra-sensitive mirrors that Chandra carries on its orbit around the Earth the X-rays of the M87 gas envelope to several million degrees.

The National Science Foundation funded the Event Horizon Telescope project, which captured this image, the very first image of a black hole using radio waves.

These X-rays came from high-energy particles that the black hole was throwing into space. The material gave a jet shape that extends over 1,000 light-years from the center of the M87, Chandra's representatives said in the statement. Viewers can observe the stream more clearly in the enlarged picture inset.

Black holes are ultra-dense structures that exert a huge gravitational force. Beyond the threshold of a black hole, the event horizon, even the light, can not escape.

It is thought that each galaxy hosts a supermassive black hole, like that of M87, at its center.

Scientists used NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory to obtain data on the supermassive black hole at the center of Messier 87, an elliptical galaxy located 60 million light-years away from Earth, in the cluster of the Virgo galaxy.

Scientists used NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory to obtain data on the supermassive black hole at the center of Messier 87, an elliptical galaxy located 60 million light-years away from Earth, in the cluster of the Virgo galaxy.

(Image: © NASA / CXC / Villanova University / J. Neilsen)

Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter @salazar_elin. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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