The Heart of Spiral Galaxy M77
Astrophotography・
In this image, the heart of the spiral galaxy M77 observed by ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) is superimposed on a visible light image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. The distribution of cyanoacetylene (HC3N) is shown in yellow; the distribution of carbon monosulfide (CS) in red; and the distribution of carbon monoxide (CO) in blue. Through ALMA observations, the existence of organic molecules concentrated around the supermassive black hole in the center of M77 was revealed for the first time.
A Mild Environment around the Black Hole?
It is thought that organic molecules are destroyed by the intense X-rays and ultraviolet radiation near a black hole. But this observation shows that organic molecules exist in abundance, suggesting that the environment must be milder than expected. By superimposing the ALMA observations on the image from the Hubble Space Telescope, we can see that along the 2 dark arms in the visible light image, molecular gas shines brightly in radio waves.
For more details, please refer to the press release “ALMA Revealed Surprisingly Mild Environment around Supermassive Black Hole”
Translation by: Ramsey Lundock (NAOJ)
Image Data
| Date | January 2012 |
|---|---|
| Object | Spiral Galaxy M77 |
| Telescope | ALMA, Hubble Space Telescope |
| Wavelengths | 3 mm, 606 nm, 658 nm, 814 nm |
| Instrument | ALMA Band 3, Hubble ACS/WFPC2 |
| Credit | ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), S. Takano et al., NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and A. van der Hoeven |