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1
Chandra Ripple Image of Perseus
The Chandra data show the ripples in the hot gas that fills the Perseus cluster. The features were discovered by using a special image-processing technique to bring out subtle changes in brightness. These ripples are sound waves thought to have been generated by cavities blown out by jets from a supermassive black hole (bright white spot) at the center of the Perseus cluster.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.)
The Chandra data show the ripples in the hot gas that fills the Perseus cluster. The features were discovered by using a special image-processing technique to bring out subtle changes in brightness. These ripples are sound waves thought to have been generated by cavities blown out by jets from a supermassive black hole (bright white spot) at the center of the Perseus cluster.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.)
2
Illustration of Ripples in Perseus
An artist's illustration depicts the sound waves (ripples) in the hot gas that fills the Perseus cluster. Key elements of the system are labeled in the version on the right. The ripple features were discovered by using a special image-processing technique to bring out subtle changes in brightness. These sound waves are thought to have been generated by cavities blown out by jets from a supermassive black hole (bright white spot) at the center of the Perseus cluster.
(Illustration: NASA/NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
An artist's illustration depicts the sound waves (ripples) in the hot gas that fills the Perseus cluster. Key elements of the system are labeled in the version on the right. The ripple features were discovered by using a special image-processing technique to bring out subtle changes in brightness. These sound waves are thought to have been generated by cavities blown out by jets from a supermassive black hole (bright white spot) at the center of the Perseus cluster.
(Illustration: NASA/NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
3
Chandra X-ray Image of Perseus, Temperature Map
A Chandra X-ray image of the hot gas in the Perseus cluster. The color shows the temperature of the X-ray emitting gas, with red showing the lower temperatures, green showing intermediate temperatures and blue showing the hottest temperatures. The hottest gas comes from faint X-ray emission in the outer parts of the cluster, so the blue regions are hard to see in the image. At the center of the image is a supermassive black hole (bright white spot) in Perseus A, the huge galaxy in the middle of the Perseus cluster. Extending away from the central supermassive black hole are two vast, bubble-shaped cavities in the cluster gas. These cavities, which were created by explosive events from the black hole, are not really empty, but are filled with high-energy particles and magnetic fields. They push the hot gas aside, creating sound waves that sweep across hundreds of thousands of light years.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.)
A Chandra X-ray image of the hot gas in the Perseus cluster. The color shows the temperature of the X-ray emitting gas, with red showing the lower temperatures, green showing intermediate temperatures and blue showing the hottest temperatures. The hottest gas comes from faint X-ray emission in the outer parts of the cluster, so the blue regions are hard to see in the image. At the center of the image is a supermassive black hole (bright white spot) in Perseus A, the huge galaxy in the middle of the Perseus cluster. Extending away from the central supermassive black hole are two vast, bubble-shaped cavities in the cluster gas. These cavities, which were created by explosive events from the black hole, are not really empty, but are filled with high-energy particles and magnetic fields. They push the hot gas aside, creating sound waves that sweep across hundreds of thousands of light years.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.)
4
Chandra 3-color X-ray Image of Perseus
The Chandra image shows the supermassive black hole at the center of Perseus A, seen as a white point. This image is 350 thousand light years across at the distance of the Perseus cluster. The hot cluster gas is seen as diffuse emission, and two cavities in the cluster gas are visible on either side of the black hole. Low-energy X-rays (0.3-1.5 keV) are shown in red, medium-energy X-rays are shown in green (1.5-3.5 keV), and high-energy X-rays are shown in blue (3.5-7.0 keV)
Scale: Image is 284 arcsec on a side
(Credit: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.)
The Chandra image shows the supermassive black hole at the center of Perseus A, seen as a white point. This image is 350 thousand light years across at the distance of the Perseus cluster. The hot cluster gas is seen as diffuse emission, and two cavities in the cluster gas are visible on either side of the black hole. Low-energy X-rays (0.3-1.5 keV) are shown in red, medium-energy X-rays are shown in green (1.5-3.5 keV), and high-energy X-rays are shown in blue (3.5-7.0 keV)
Scale: Image is 284 arcsec on a side
(Credit: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.)
5
Optical Image of Perseus
This optical image of the Perseus galaxy cluster was taken by the ground-based 1m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope at La Palma with an exposure time of 45 minutes. The image is 350 thousand light years across at the distance of the Perseus cluster. At the center of the image is Perseus A, a large elliptical galaxy.
Scale: Image is 284 arcsec on a side
(Credit: Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, La Palma)
This optical image of the Perseus galaxy cluster was taken by the ground-based 1m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope at La Palma with an exposure time of 45 minutes. The image is 350 thousand light years across at the distance of the Perseus cluster. At the center of the image is Perseus A, a large elliptical galaxy.
Scale: Image is 284 arcsec on a side
(Credit: Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, La Palma)
6
Chandra Image of Perseus Cluster with VLA Radio Inset
This 328 MHz radio image of the Perseus Cluster (inset box) was obtained on December 23, 1998 by NRAO's Very Large Array (VLA). It was made by combining VLA observations taken in the A, B and C configurations, and has 8 arcsec resolution. The radio emission, tracing jets from the black hole, fills the X-ray cavities.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.; Radio: NRAO/VLA/G. Taylor)
This 328 MHz radio image of the Perseus Cluster (inset box) was obtained on December 23, 1998 by NRAO's Very Large Array (VLA). It was made by combining VLA observations taken in the A, B and C configurations, and has 8 arcsec resolution. The radio emission, tracing jets from the black hole, fills the X-ray cavities.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.; Radio: NRAO/VLA/G. Taylor)
7
Artist's Representation of "Cooling Flows" in Galaxy Clusters
The detection of intergalactic sound waves may solve the long-standing mystery of why the hot gas in the central regions of the Perseus cluster has not cooled over the past ten billion years to form trillions of stars. This graphic is a series of four illustrations to show how "cooling flows" are expected to affect the structure of galaxy clusters. The hot, X-ray emitting gas that fills the cluster is shown in red (left). Next, the gas near the center of the cluster radiates energy and cools, which is shown as blue. The resulting inward flow of gas should cause higher densities toward the center of the cluster (brighter blue), and the final frame shows how this is expected to generate prodigious star formation.
[ View the animated version ] (Illustration: NASA/NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
The detection of intergalactic sound waves may solve the long-standing mystery of why the hot gas in the central regions of the Perseus cluster has not cooled over the past ten billion years to form trillions of stars. This graphic is a series of four illustrations to show how "cooling flows" are expected to affect the structure of galaxy clusters. The hot, X-ray emitting gas that fills the cluster is shown in red (left). Next, the gas near the center of the cluster radiates energy and cools, which is shown as blue. The resulting inward flow of gas should cause higher densities toward the center of the cluster (brighter blue), and the final frame shows how this is expected to generate prodigious star formation.
[ View the animated version ] (Illustration: NASA/NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
8
Artist's Representation of Sound Waves Preventing a Cooling Flow in Perseus
This graphic is a series of three illustrations to show how a "cooling flow" in the Perseus cluster, and the resulting star formation, is prevented by sound waves generated by the central black hole. The hot, X-ray emitting gas that fills the cluster is shown in red (left). Next, the gas near the center of the cluster radiates energy and cools, which is shown as blue. The third frame shows heating by the sound waves, shown in yellow, preventing further cooling of the gas. This stops the inward flow of gas expected in a cooling flow, preventing new star formation.
[ View the animated version ] (Illustration: NASA/NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
This graphic is a series of three illustrations to show how a "cooling flow" in the Perseus cluster, and the resulting star formation, is prevented by sound waves generated by the central black hole. The hot, X-ray emitting gas that fills the cluster is shown in red (left). Next, the gas near the center of the cluster radiates energy and cools, which is shown as blue. The third frame shows heating by the sound waves, shown in yellow, preventing further cooling of the gas. This stops the inward flow of gas expected in a cooling flow, preventing new star formation.
[ View the animated version ] (Illustration: NASA/NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
9
Chandra X-ray Image with Scale Bar
Scale bar = 60 arcsec
Credit: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.
Scale bar = 60 arcsec
Credit: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.
Return to the Perseus Cluster (9 Sep 03)
Revised: May 17, 2022