M87* (Powehi)

Category:  Black Hole
Location:  Galaxy Messier 87 (NGC 4486)
Coordinates:  12 30 49.42 +12 23 28.04
Accepted distance: ~53,000,000 ly

Image credits:  X-ray: NASA/CXC/Villanova University/J. Neilsen; Radio: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration

Observation wavelengths and instruments

Top image:
Radio – Event Horizon Telescope

Middle image:
X-rays – Chandra X-ray Observatory Wide Field and Close-up

Bottom image:
X-rays and Radio – Left: Chandra X-ray Observatory Close-up, Right: Event Horizon Telescope

Key misinterpreted observations

  • The object is a supermassive black hole located in the center of galaxy M87
  • The object has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun
  • Jets of high-energy particles are launched by intense gravitational fields

Click here to learn about an alternative interpretation of the observations.

M87* (Powehi)Shannon Sims