Science & Exploration
Host galaxy of ASASSN-14li
The host galaxy of ASASSN-14li, a black hole devouring a star, as observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in optical wavelengths. The insert in the lower left shows the X-ray view obtained by NASA’s Chandra observatory.
Observations of ASASSN-14li have revealed an exceptionally bright and stable signal that oscillated over a period of 131 seconds for a long time: 450 days.
By combining this with information about the black hole’s mass and size, the astronomers found that the hole must be spinning rapidly – at more than 50% of the speed of light – and that the signal came from its innermost regions.
Artist’s impression of black hole
XMM-Newton's view of star-shredding black hole
Galactic merger hosting a supermassive black hole
Supermassive black hole at the heart of NGC 5548
