Fact Sheet
Efficient Black Hole
Clouds of hot gas surround a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy NGC 4696 in this image, which combines X-ray, infrared, and radio observations of the giant elliptical galaxy. The blobs of blue flanking the bright white region at the center of the galaxy are high-energy particles that are being squirted into space from the disk of material that encircles the black hole. The observations indicate that the disks around black holes are very efficient at converting matter to energy. [Credit: NASA/CXC/KIPAC/S.Allen et al/NRAO/VLA/G.Taylor/ESA/McMaster Univ./W.Harris]
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