Universe  ID: 12539

Hubble Detects a Rogue Supermassive Black Hole

Released on March 23, 2017
The Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of a quasar named 3C 186 that is offset from the center of its galaxy. Astronomers hypothesize that this supermassive black hole was jettisoned from the center of its galaxy by the recoil from gravitational waves produced by the merging of two supermassive black holes.

Read the press release here - https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/feature/gravitational-wave-kicks-monster-black-hole-out-of-galactic-core

Download the Hubble images here - http://hubblesite.org/news_release/news/2017-12

Read the science paper here - http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hvi/uploads/science_paper/file_attachment/231/3c186.pdf
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Music credit: "Stealth Car" by Tom Sue [GEMA] and Zac Singer [GEMA]; Ed. Berlin Production Music/Universal Publishing Production Music GmbH GEMA; Berlin Production Music; Killer Tracks Production Music

Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.

 

Source Material

NASA's Fermi Preps to Narrow Down Gravitational Wave Sources
Massive Black Hole Shreds Passing Star (Animation Only)
Merging Black Holes

Related

Star Gives Birth to Possible Black Hole in Hubble and Spitzer Images

Credits

Producer:
Katrina Jackson (USRA)

Host:
Katrina Jackson (USRA)

Editor:
Katrina Jackson (USRA)

Videographer:
John Caldwell (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.)

Scientist:
Marco Chiaberge (STScI)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12539

Mission:
Hubble

Keywords:
SVS >> Black Hole
SVS >> Quasar
SVS >> Hubble Space Telescope
SVS >> Astrophysics
SVS >> Gravitational Waves
NASA Science >> Universe
SVS >> Chandra
SVS >> Supermassive Black Hole
SVS >> Black Hole Merger