Black Hole Slideshow

http://www.universeforum.org/einstein/

Real Images of Actual Black Holes

Extraordinary Evidence for an Incredible Idea

Presented by: Name, Affiliation

Location and Date here



A Brief Summary of Black HolesStellar-mass black holes

The most massive stars end their lives in titanic explosions, leaving nothing behind but their ultra-dense collapsed cores. Mid-mass black holesA new class of recently-discovered black holes have masses on the order of hundreds or thousands of stars.

Representations above are artists’ impressions, and not to scale.

Supermassive black holesThe centers of galaxies contain giant black holes, with the masses of millions, even billions, of stars.

We cannot see black holes directly, but their influence

on the matter around them reveals their presence.



X-ray Binary: Visible Light View

Many of the stars in our universe come in pairs. Ordinary stars orbiting around a black

hole will appear to “wobble” in the sky.Sloa

n Digi

tal Sk

y Surv

ey



X-ray Binary: X-ray Light View

More dramatically, matter being pulled off the orbiting star, into the accretion disk of

the black hole, glows brightly in x-rays.NASA

/ CXC

/ SAO



Globular Cluster: Visible Light View

Globular clusters are large, dense clusters of stars.

These stars are among the oldest stars in our universe.

W. Keel (U. Alabama), et al.. 1.54-m

Telescope, Chile



Globular Cluster: X-ray Light View

Stars orbiting around black holes inside these ancient clusters are revealed by the x-

ray glow of matter around them.

NASA / CXC / CfA/J. Grindlay & C. Heinke



Milky Way Center: Visible Light View

The heart of our galaxy is a veritable soup of stars, gas, and dust. On a clear night in

a dark sky, the view is breathtaking.

W. K

eel (U

. Alab

ama),

et al.

. 1.54

-m

Telescope, Chile



Milky Way Center: X-ray Light View

Lurking within our galaxy’s hot, turbulent center are x-ray binaries, neutron stars, and

even a supermassive black hole.

NASA

/ U.M

ass /

D. Wan

g, et

al.



Spiral Galaxy: Visible Light View

Like our own Milky Way, M74 is a majestic spiral. The swirling spiral arms house a menagerie of stars and stellar material.NOAO

/ AUR

A / NS

F/ T.

Boros

on



Spiral Galaxy: X-ray Light View

X-ray observations of strange new sources provide evidence for a new class of black

holes, with the mass of 10,000 stars.NASA/CXC / U. Michigan / J. Liu et al.



Spiral Galaxy: Multi-wavelength View

Combining x-ray and visible light observations can pinpoint the locations of

black hole, providing a more complete picture.

NASA / CXC / U. Michigan / J. Liu et al.

NOAO / AURA / NSF / T. Boroson



Spiral Galaxies: An X-ray Gallery

Thanks to the Chandra X-ray Observatory, these “mid-mass” black holes are becoming

part of the story for all galaxies.NASA / CXC / SAO / R. DiStefano, et al.



Elliptical Galaxy: Visible and X-ray Views

Indeed, most (if not all) galaxies are now thought to house a variety of black holes,

ranging in mass from small to large.

NASA / CXC / UVA / C. Sarazin, et al.Digital Sky Survey



Deep Field Galaxies: X-ray View

Looking out deep into space and back in time, we see supermassive black holes in the cores

of the earliest galaxies.NASA / CXC / PSU /D. M. Alexander, F. E. Bauer, W. N. Brandt, et al.



If animation does not play automatically, download animation “Galaxy Merger and Chandra Data” fromhttp://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2002/0192/animations.html

Direct Link: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2002/0192/SimPlusData_small.mpg

Animation must be in the same folder as presentation to run.

Colliding Galaxies: A Black Hole Merger

Actual observations provide evidence and data for computer simulations. What does it look

like when black holes collide?

QuickTime™ and aYUV420 codec decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

NASA / CXC / MPE / S. Komossa, et al.

J. Barnes (U.Hawaii)

J. H

ubbard

(NRAO

)



Centaurus A: Visible Light View

Centaurus A is a nearby galaxy that is thought to be the result of a merger of two smaller galaxies. What’s behind the dust?

M. Rejkuba (ESO-Garching) et al., ISAAC, VLT

ANTU

teles

cope,

ESO P

aranal

Obser

vatory



Centaurus A: X-ray Light View

A telltale sign of a black hole is a high-energy jet blasting into space. This galaxy has

a supermassive black hole in its center!NASA / SAO / R. Kraft, et al.



Elliptical Galaxy: Visible and X-ray Views

The elliptical galaxy M87 also houses a monster in its middle: the most massive black

hole yet observed in our universe.

NASA / CXC / M. Forman, et al.

Palomar Observatory, Digitized Sky Survey



Black Holes Galore!

From the formation of galaxies to the deaths of stars,

black holes are an integral part of our universe’s history.

NASA/CXC/SAO/H.Marshall et al.NASA/CXC/MIT/F.K.Baganoff et al.

NASA/CXC/U.Amsterdam/S.Migliari et al.

X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/UCSB/P.Ogle et al.Optical: NASA/STScI/A.Capetti et alNASA/UMD/A.Wilson et al.



CreditsThis slide show was created for:

Inside Einstein’s Universe


Black hole images in this presentation are courtesy:

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

http://chandra.harvard.edu/

To learn more about black holes, visit:

http://www.universeforum.org/

Black Hole Slideshow

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