ESA - Space Science - Where are the supermassive black holes hiding?

Space Science

About Space Science ESA's 'Cosmic Vision'Science & Technology in-depth

Multimedia

Science images Science videos Animations Downloads Sounds from space

Media centre

Press Releases Press kits ESA Television

Resources

Reference section Glossary FAQs

Science missions

Services

Help Legal disclaimer Comments Subscribe

RSS feeds

ESA Sci on Twitter

Article Images

Where are the supermassive black holes hiding?

26 July 2006

Back to article

Dust torus around a supermassive black hole

Download:

HI RES TIFF (Size: 7265 KB)

HI RES JPG (Size: 39 KB)

This artist's impression shows the thick dust torus that astronomers believe surrounds many supermassive black holes and their accretion discs. When the torus is seen edge-on as in this case, much of the light emitted by the accretion disc is blocked, creating a "hidden" black hole.

However, the sharp gamma-ray and X-ray eyes of Integral can peer through the thick dust and identify the black hole within. An Integral survey of the local universe found few hidden black holes, implying that they must have existed earlier (deeper) in the universe.

Credits: ESA / V. Beckmann (NASA-GSFC)

Back to article

Hidden black holes in the local universe

Download:

HI-RES JPEG (Size: 440 kb)

This all-sky map shows regions of ionized hydrogen gas in the local universe. The hidden black holes detected in the INTEGRAL survey of high-energy X-ray sources are located within the diamond-shape marks. Many sources were detected through the line of sight of the dusty Milky Way galactic plane, which is the bright area stretching across the center of the entire image from left to right.

Credits: D. Finkbeiner / ESA, INTEGRAL, V. Beckmann, ISDC Geneva

ESA's gamma-ray astronomy mission

More about...

Integral factsheet

Integral sees a GRB out of the corner of its eye Integral catches stellar 'corpses' by the tail Exceptional manoeuvres enable unique Integral science Integral identifies supernova rate for Milky Way Integral: three years of insight into the violent cosmos Star eats companion Three satellites needed to bring out ‘shy star’Integral rolls back history of Milky Way's super-massive black hole ESA's Integral detects closest cosmic gamma-ray burst Observations: Seeing in the gamma-ray wavelengths