A black hole is an object so compact that light itself cannot escape its gravitational pull. A black hole sucks up material thrown out by normal stars around it. The faintness of the source may indicate a dearth of matter floating toward the black hole or it may indicate that the environment of the black hole is for some reason rejecting most of the infalling material. Frederick K. Baganoff and colleagues from Pennsylvania State University, University Park, and the University of California, Los Angeles, will present their findings today in Atlanta at the 195th national meeting of the American Astronomical Society. It looks like a faint quasar and is believed to be powered by gaseous matter falling into a supermassive black hole with 2.6 million times the mass of our sun.
Theorists are eager to hear the results of our observation so they can test their ideas.
This new result provides fresh insight that will no doubt stir heated debates on these issues. X-ray camera, which acquired the data. This sensitivity, plus the superior spatial resolution of Chandra's mirrors, make Chandra the perfect tool for studying this faint X-ray source in its crowded field. This poses a problem for theorists. The galactic center is a crowded place.