Astronomers find that the supermassive black hole at the center of the most massive local galaxy (M87) is not where it was expected. Their research, conducted using the Hubble Space Telescope, concludes that the supermassive black hole in M87 is displaced from the galaxy center.
At right is a large-scale image of galaxy M87 taken in 1998 with Hubble's Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2. The two images at left show an image taken in 2006 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The position of the supermassive black hole is indicated by the black dot in the lower left panel, and a knot in the jet (HST-1), which was flaring in 2006, is also indicated on this panel. The red dot indicates the center of the galaxy's light distribution, which is offset from the position of the black hole by about 22 light-years.
Credits
NASA, ESA, D. Batcheldor and E. Perlman (Florida Institute of Technology), the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and J. Biretta, W. Sparks, and F.D. Macchetto (STScI)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Messier 87, M87, NGC 4486 |
| Object Description | Giant Eliptical Galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 12h 30m 49s |
| Dec. Position | +12° 23' 28" |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Distance | About 50 million light-years (16 megaparsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | ACS Data (left): The data used for the science results include the following ACS proposals of M87: (PI: J. Biretta) , , , and ; (PI: E. Perlman) ; and (PI: E. Baltz) . WFPC2 Image (right): The data used in the large (WFPC2) image of the M87 galaxy are from HST proposal : J. Biretta, W. Sparks, F.D. Macchetto (STScI), and E. Perlman (Florida Institute of Technology). Science Publication: The "A Displaced Supermassive Black Hole in M87" research paper by D. Batcheldor (FIT), A. Robinson (RIT), D. Axon (School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Sussex and RIT), E. Perlman (FIT), and D. Merritt (RIT) will be published in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/WFC and ACS/HRC (left), and HST>WFPC2 (right) |
| Exposure Dates | 2002-2006 (left), and February 1998 (right) |
| Filters | Left: F606W (R) and F814W (I) Right: F300W (U), F450W (B), F606W (V), and F814W (I) |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
