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Q& A: Black Holes

Q:
Is the light of the black hole "images" from your web site X-ray light from inside the black hole?

A:
No light of any kind, including X-rays, can escape from inside the event horizon of a black hole. The X-rays Chandra observes from the vicinity of black holes are from matter that is very close to the event horizon of black holes. Matter is heated to millions of degrees as it is pulled toward the black hole, so it glows in X-rays.

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