NGC 300 X-1 in the spiral galaxy NGC 300
Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have detected a stellar-mass black hole much further away than any other previously known. With a mass about twenty times that of the Sun, this is also the second most massive stellar-mass black hole ever found. The newly announced black hole lies in a spiral galaxy called NGC 300, six million light-years from Earth.
This image composite shows the spectacular spiral galaxy NGC 300 as seen in an image from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), as well as the position of the stellar-mass black hole in the galaxy in an image obtained with the FORS2 instrument on the VLT.
Crédit:ESO/ Digitized Sky Survey 2/P. Crowther
À propos de l'image
Identification: | eso1004b |
Type: | Observation |
Date de publication: | 27 janvier 2010 12:00 |
Communiqués de presse en rapport: | eso1004 |
Taille: | 3012 x 1551 px |
À propos de l'objet
Nom: | NGC 300 X-1 |
Type: | Local Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Black Hole Local Universe : Star : Type : Wolf-Rayet Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
Distance: | 6 million années lumière |
Catégorie: | Galaxies |
Fonds d'écran
Couleurs & filtres
Domaine | Longueur d'onde | Télescope |
---|---|---|
Visible B | Very Large Telescope FORS2 | |
Visible Oiii | 500 nm | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |
Visible H-alpha | Very Large Telescope FORS2 | |
Visible R | Digitized Sky Survey 2 |