MINI-JET FOUND NEAR MILKY WAY’S SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE

Stsci_2021-62a_1024

stsci_2021-62a December 9th, 2021

Credit: NASA, ESA, G. Cecil (University

This is a composite of view of X-rays and warm ionized gas near the galactic center. The graphic of a translucent, vertical white fan is added to show the suggested axis of a mini-jet from the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s heart. The orange colored features are of glowing hydrogen gas. One such feature, at the top tip of the jet is interpreted at a hydrogen cloud that has been hit by the outflowing jet. The jet scatters off the cloud into tendrils that flow northward. Farther down near the black hole are X-ray observations of superheated gas colored green and blue. These date are circumstantial evidence that the black hole occasionally accretes stars or gas clouds, and ejects some of the superheated material along its spin axis.

Provider: Space Telescope Science Institute

Image Source: https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2021/news-2021-062

Curator: STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA

Image Use Policy: http://hubblesite.org/copyright/

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Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Sgr A*
Subject - Milky Way
Galaxy > Component > Central Black Hole

Distance Details Distance

Universescale1
26,000 light years
Stsci_2021-62a_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 23h 58m 40.4s
DEC = 0° 3’ 24.7”
Orientation
North is up
Field of View
6.7 x 8.3 arcminutes
Constellation
Pisces

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 826.7 pm
Yellow Hubble (NICMOS) Infrared (Paschen alpha) 1.9 µm
Green ALMA Millimeter -
Red VLA Radio -
Spectrum_xray1w
Blue
Yellow
Stsci_2021-62a_1280
×
ID
2021-62a
Subject Category
B.5.4.6  
Subject Name
Sgr A*
Credits
NASA, ESA, G. Cecil (University
Release Date
2021-12-09T00:00:00
Lightyears
26,000
Redshift
26,000
Reference Url
https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2021/news-2021-062
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, Hubble, ALMA, VLA
Instrument
ACIS, NICMOS, -, -
Color Assignment
Blue, Yellow, Green, Red
Band
X-ray, Infrared, Millimeter, Radio
Bandpass
-, Paschen alpha, -, -
Central Wavelength
0.8267, 1875, -, -
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
2000.0
Reference Value
359.66824370787, 0.05684917468
Reference Dimension
2678.00, 3310.00
Reference Pixel
7871.91992823121, 286.27837222840
Scale
-0.00004185828, 0.00004185828
Rotation
-0.02130565873
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
World Coordinate System resolved using PinpointWCS 0.9.2 revision 218+ by the Chandra X-ray Center
Creator (Curator)
STScI
URL
http://hubblesite.org
Name
Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach
Email
outreach@stsci.edu
Telephone
410-338-4444
Address
3700 San Martin Drive
City
Baltimore
State/Province
MD
Postal Code
21218
Country
USA
Rights
http://hubblesite.org/copyright/
Publisher
STScI
Publisher ID
stsci
Resource ID
STSCI-H-p2162a-f-2678x3310.tif
Resource URL
https://mast.stsci.edu/api/latest/Download/file?uri=mast:OPO/product/STSCI-H-p2162a-f-2678x3310.tif
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2022-07-06T00:00:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
26,000 light years

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