X-Rays From The Galactic Center
Exploring quasars
and active galaxies in the distant
universe, astronomers have come to believe that
most galaxies have massive black holes at their centers.
Swirling stars and a strong, variable
radio source offer convincing evidence that even our own Milky Way
galaxy's center harbors such a
bizarre object,
a mere 30,000 light-years away.
Still, it has long been realized that if a massive black hole
lurks there
it should produce X-rays
- which have not previously been identified.
Now, though relatively faint,
the missing X-ray source may have been found.
Taking advantage of the sensitive Chandra Observatory
astronomers have recorded this false-color
X-ray image of the Galactic Center.
Embedded in a diffuse cloud of
X-ray hot gas,
the white dot at the center corresponds to an X-ray
source at exactly the position of the strong radio source
and suspected black hole.
Other individual X-ray sources are also present in
the picture which spans about 10 light-years at the distance
of the galactic center.
With radio and X-ray emission generated by infalling material,
the Milky Way's central black hole is thought to have a mass of
over 2 million suns.