Mrk 231 galactic black hole. Artwork of the environment around the supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy Markarian 231. As well as the n

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Mrk 231 galactic black hole. Artwork of the environment around the supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy Markarian 231. As well as the narrow polar jets, the energy of this black hole is powering the broader outflow shown at top. A similar broad outflow is shown below and obscured by the accretion disc. The total amount of material in these broad flows is at least 400 times the mass of the Sun per year. Markarian 231 (UGC 8058) is a Type-1 Seyfert galaxy. It is around 600 million light years from Earth, in the constellation of Ursa Major. This research, by the Gemini Observatory, was published in 2011.

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Size: 4774px × 3689px
Photo credit: © GEMINI OBSERVATORY/AURA/LYNETTE COOK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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