Tag Archive for 'Chandra'

An artist’s illustration and an X-ray image from Chandra of RACS J0320-35. Image credit: NASA / CXC / INAF-Brera / Ighina et al. / SAO / M. Weiss / N. Wolk.

Astronomers Find Actively Accreting Supermassive Black Hole 12.8 Billion Light-Years Away

Sep 18, 2025 by News Staff

A supermassive black hole in the center of the radio quasar RACS J032021.44-352104.1 (RACS J0320-35 for short) is growing at one of the fastest rates ever...

X-ray and infrared images of NGC 6099 HLX-1. Image credit: NASA / CXC / Inst. of Astronomy, Taiwan / Y-C Chang / ESA / STScI / HST / J. DePasquale.

Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Caught Eating Star in NGC 6099

Jul 27, 2025 by News Staff

The newly-discovered intermediate-mass black hole, named NGC 6099 HLX-1, resides in a compact star cluster on the outskirts of the elliptical galaxy NGC...

This new composite image of the Andromeda galaxy includes X-rays from Chandra and XMM-Newton (represented in red, green, and blue); ultraviolet data from GALEX (blue); optical data from astrophotographers using ground based telescopes (Jakob Sahner and Tarun Kottary); infrared data from Spitzer, the Infrared Astronomy Satellite, COBE, Planck, and Herschel (red, orange, and purple); and radio data from the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (red-orange). Image credit: NASA.

New Image Shows Andromeda Galaxy as We’ve Never Seen It Before

Jun 27, 2025 by News Staff

Using data from several space- and ground-based telescopes, NASA astronomers have captured a stunning new image of the Andromeda galaxy, which is the closest...

This new composite image made with X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue and purple), radio data from the MeerKAT radio telescope (orange and yellow), and an optical image from PanSTARRS (red, green, and blue) shows the massive galaxy cluster PLCK G287.0+32.9. Image credit: NASA / CXC / CfA / Rajpurohit et al. / PanSTARRS / SARAO / MeerKAT / SAO / N. Wolk.

20-Million-Light-Year-Wide Cloud of Energetic Particles Spotted around Distant Galaxy Cluster

Jun 11, 2025 by News Staff

Astronomers have discovered the largest known cloud of energetic particles surrounding a galaxy cluster — the 20-million-light-year-wide cloud around...

A composite of radio, X-ray, and infrared emission of the field of ASKAP J1832-0911. Image credit: Wang et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09077-w.

Radio Wave- and X-Ray-Emitting Star is Unlike Anything Astronomers Have Seen in Our Galaxy

May 30, 2025 by News Staff

ASKAP J1832-0911 — likely a magnetar or an extremely magnetized white dwarf — emits pulses of radio waves and X-rays for two minutes every...

The tidal disruption event AT2024tvd. Image credit: NASA / CXC / University of California, Berkeley / Yao et al. / ESA / STScI / HST / J. DePasquale.

Wandering Supermassive Black Hole Discovered 600 Million Light-Years Away

May 8, 2025 by News Staff

This supermassive black hole was discovered thanks to the newly-identified tidal disruption event AT2024tvd, an astronomical phenomenon in which a star...

This artist’s impression shows an exoplanet (left) that has approached too close to a white dwarf (right) and been torn apart by tidal forces from the star. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / M. Weiss.

Enigmatic X-Ray Emission from Distant White Dwarf Points to Destroyed Exoplanet

Mar 5, 2025 by News Staff

Astronomers may finally have settled the question of what is causing highly energetic X-rays from WD 2226-210, a white dwarf star located at the center...

This Chandra image shows the Tarantula Nebula. Image credit: NASA / CXC / Penn State University / Townsley et al.

Chandra Captures Deepest X-ray Image Ever Made of Tarantula Nebula

Feb 12, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Tarantula Nebula is the most important star-forming complex in the Local Group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud,...

These images show two of the galaxy clusters in the study, the Perseus Cluster and the Centaurus Cluster. Chandra data represented in blue reveal X-rays from filaments of hot gas, and VLT data show cooler filaments in red. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / Olivares et al. / DSS / CFHT / SITELLE / ESA / STScI / ESO / VLT / MUSE / N. Wolk.

Supermassive Black Holes Can Create Their Own Meals, Astronomers Say

Jan 28, 2025 by News Staff

New data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESO’s Very Large Telescope provide evidence that outbursts from supermassive black holes can help...

This artist’s concept shows what happened when two massive clusters of galaxies, collectively known as MACS J0018.5+1626, collided: the dark matter in the galaxy clusters (blue) sailed ahead of the associated clouds of hot gas, or normal matter (orange); both dark matter and normal matter feel the pull of gravity, but only the normal matter experiences additional effects like shocks and turbulence, which slow it down during collisions. Image credit: W.M. Keck Observatory / Adam Makarenko.

Astronomers See Decoupling of Dark and Normal Matter in Collision of Two Galaxy Clusters

Aug 1, 2024 by News Staff

The two galaxy clusters, known collectivity as MACS J0018.5+1626, each contain thousands of galaxies and are located billions of light-years away from...

This collection of images was released to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Chandra. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO.

Chandra Marks 25 Years in Space with Collection of 25 Stunning Images

Jul 23, 2024 by News Staff

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Chandra team has released a set of 25 new images of cosmic objects and phenomena. This...

Siraj & Loeb explore the possibility that accretion flares resulting from the tidal disruption of small Oort Cloud bodies by a putative primordial black hole could power an observable optical signal that could be searched for with the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time. Image credit: Sci-News.com / Zdeněk Bardon / ESO.

Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Detected Close to Milky Way’s Center

Jul 18, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Using data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and other telescopes, astronomers have found evidence for an intermediate-mass black hole in IRS 13,...

This image shows a region near the center of our Milky Way Galaxy in X-ray and radio light. At the bottom of the image, near the center, is a brilliant, tangled knot of material that resembles a paint splatter. This is the brightest region in the image, and it contains the supermassive black hole at the center of our Galaxy, known as Sagittarius A*. The lower third of the image resembles an angry firestorm. Streaks of red and orange are scattered in every direction, as if a legion of embers from a fire crackled and popped into the air all at once. Flame-like structures lick toward the center from our right. Much of the image is infused with wispy blue clouds showing X-rays detected by Chandra. At a few points, the wispy blue clouds seem to form into balls of teal colored light and are known as dust halos. They are caused by X-rays from bright X-ray sources reflecting off dust surrounding the sources. These dust halos resemble underwater lights glowing in a cloudy swimming pool at night. Rising up from Sagittarius A* in the center of the image is a pillar of blue light referred to as a chimney. This chimney of hot gas is surrounded by red clouds that are filled with stars, presenting themselves as tiny red flecks. Near the top of the blue pillar is a streak of light blue, outlined by an illustrated, gray box. This streak is referred to as the chimney exhaust vent. Just to our left is another illustrated box that shows the close-up image of the chimney vent as observed by Chandra. Image credit: NASA / CXC / Universe of Chicago / Mackey et al. / NRF / SARAO / MeerKAT / SAO / N. Wolk.

Milky Way’s Center is Venting, Astronomers Say

May 17, 2024 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered an ‘exhaust vent’ funneling hot gas away from Sagittarius A*, the supermassive...

This composite image shows the quasar H1821+643. Image credit: NASA / CXC / University of Nottingham / Russell et al. / NSF / NRAO / VLA / SAO / N. Wolk.

Astronomers Find Underachieving Quasar in Distant Galaxy Cluster

Mar 22, 2024 by News Staff

Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and NSF’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), astronomers have found that H1821+643 — the nearest quasar...

Multiwavelength image of the massive galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / Omoruyi et al. / STScI / Tremblay et al. / ASTRON / LOFAR / NASA / CXC / SAO / N. Wolk.

Astronomers Detect Mega-Eruption from Supermassive Black Hole in Distant Galaxy Cluster

Feb 22, 2024 by News Staff

Some of the gas sent gas away from the supermassive black hole — which is located in the center of the galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414 (SDSS J1531...

Daly et al. found Sagittarius A* is spinning with 60% of the maximum possible rate of spin, a limit set by material not being able to travel faster than the speed of light. This image shows Sagittarius A* in X-ray light from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Image credit: NASA / CXC / University of Wisconsin / Bai et al.

Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole is Spinning Very Rapidly, New Research Shows

Feb 12, 2024 by News Staff

Sagittarius A*, the 4.3-million-solar-mass black hole that resides at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, is spinning so quickly it is warping the spacetime...

This composite image shows the Green Monster structure within the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / ESA / STScI / CSA / Milisavljevic et al. / JPL / Caltech / J. Schmidt / K. Arcand.

Astronomers Solve Mystery of ‘Green Monster’ Feature in Cassiopeia A

Jan 8, 2024 by News Staff

New research suggests that the Green Monster — a curious structure first spotted in Webb data in April 2023 — came from that blast wave slamming...

At the center of this complex landscape of brilliant, colorful gas clouds is the supernova remnant 30 Doradus B. Image credit: NASA / CXC / Penn State University / Townsley et al. / STScI / HST / JPL / CalTech / SST / SAO / J. Schmidt / N. Wolk / K. Arcand.

At Least Two Supernova Explosions Created Supernova Remnant 30 Doradus B, Astronomers Say

Jan 5, 2024 by News Staff

30 Doradus B, also cataloged as NGC 2060, is found in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. At the center of this complex...

This composite image shows the young star cluster NGC 2264, also known as the Christmas Tree Cluster. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / T.A. Rector, NRAO, AUI, NSF, NOIRLab & AURA / B.A. Wolpa, NOIRLab, NSF & AURA / IPAC / Caltech / Universe of Massachusetts / L. Frattare / J.Major.

Astronomers Release Stunning Image of ‘Christmas Tree’ Star Cluster

Dec 20, 2023 by News Staff

The ‘Christmas Tree Cluster,’ also known as NGC 2264, is located approximately 2,600 light-years away in the constellation of Monoceros. This composite...

This composite image shows Omega Centauri, a globular cluster some 17,710 light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus; in the image, the Chandra data are shown along an optical view from Hubble and infrared view from Spitzer. Image credit: NASA / CXC / San Francisco State University / Cool et al. / ESA / STScI / JPL / Caltech / SAO / N. Wolk.

Astronomers Find Group of Spider Pulsars in Omega Centauri

Dec 4, 2023 by News Staff

Spider pulsars are a type of millisecond pulsar that strips their companion stars of their atmospheres through energetic winds. This composite image shows...

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