Chandra Release - September 13, 2002

Visual Description: Abell 2104

The Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the cluster of galaxies Abell 2104 is dominated by a large, bright blue textured and speckled blob, which appears to be an intense concentration of matter or energy. Surrounding this are various small bright dots, set against a black backdrop. Chandra observations of Abell 2104 revealed six bright X-ray sources that are associated with supermassive black holes in red galaxies in the cluster. Since red galaxies are thought to be composed primarily of older stars and contain little gas, the observation came as a surprise to astronomers. Powerful X-ray emission from a supermassive black hole comes from gas heated as it falls toward the black hole, so an abundant supply of gas is needed to produce the bright X-ray sources detected by Chandra.