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X-ray & Optical Images of XBONGs(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/D. Kim et al.; Optical/IR: Legacy Surveys/D. Lang (Perimeter Institute))
A survey has revealed hundreds of previously unidentified black holes using data from the Chandra Source Catalog and the Sloan Digitized Sky Survey (SDSS). Researchers compared the X-ray and optical data for a class of objects known as “XBONGs” (X-ray bright, optically normal galaxies) to reveal about 400 supermassive black holes. These graphics show these XBONGs in X-rays from Chandra and optical light from SDSS. This result helps explain some unusual properties of XBONGs as well as provide a more accurate census of supermassive black holes that exist in the centers of most large galaxies.
Return to: Astronomers Dig Out Buried Black Holes With NASA's Chandra (January 11, 2023)