Galaxy Cluster RX J1532 with Black Hole, Optical
Astronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and a suite of other telescopes to reveal one of the most powerful black holes known. The black hole has created enormous structures in the hot gas surrounding it and prevented trillions of stars from forming. The black hole is in a galaxy cluster named RX +3021 (RX J1532 for short), located about billion light years from Earth. The cluster is very bright in X-rays implying that it is extremely massive, with a mass about a quadrillion (a thousand trillion) times that of the sun. At the center of the cluster is a large elliptical galaxy containing the supermassive black hole. Supersonic jets from the black hole have created large, expanding cavities in the hot gas. Shock fronts -- akin to sonic booms -- caused by the expanding cavities and the release of energy by sound waves reverberating through the hot gas provide a source of heat that prevents most of the gas from cooling and forming new stars. Release date January 23, 2014.
Size: 3600px × 3600px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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