Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

These illustrations depict gas from a Sun-like companion star being drawn in a swirling pattern into a black hole (top) and onto a neutron star (bottom). In both examples, as the gas nears the central object, a strong gravitational redshift makes it appear redder and dimmer. When the gas strikes the solid surface of the neutron star, it glows brightly in X rays. But when the gas crosses the event horizon of the black hole, it produces no X-rays because a black hole has no surface. New observations by Chandra have provided strong evidence for the existence of "event horizons", the defining characteristic of black holes.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2001/blackholes/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html