Chandra Release - October 3, 2017

Visual Description: Seeing Double: Scientists Find Elusive Giant Black Hole Pairs

There are two panels in this graphic, each with X-ray and optical images of two supermassive black holes, J122104 and J140737. The background of the image is black with two large optical fields and two smaller X-ray insets. The two pairs of supermassive black holes are shown using a combination of data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey. The image contains optical light (showing the stars and galaxy shapes) with bright blue X-ray spots, highlighting regions of intense energetic activity. The optical background is relatively faint and diffuse, letting the blue glowing X-ray points stand out sharply.