Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UA/J. Irwin et al; Optical: NASA/STScI

X-rays from Chandra and optical spectra from the Magellan telescopes provide evidence that a star was destroyed a black hole in a globular cluster. The Chandra data (blue) reveal a so-called ultraluminous X-ray source. When combined with optical observations, it suggests that a white dwarf star strayed too close to an intermediate-mass black hole and was ripped apart by tidal forces. If confirmed, this would be the first substantiation that globular clusters contain this middle-sized class of black hole.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2010/ngc1399/

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

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