A composite utilizing both HST and CXO data to visualize x-ray emission from the galaxy's nucleus. Its bright central supermassive black hole is actively accreting matter and the surrounding disk is glowing hot with x-rays. Star formation encircling the nucleus also heats interstellar gas to create a diffuse, nebular glow further out from the nucleus.
An article describing the observations used to create this image that serendipitously caught a blob of dust eclipsing the black hole is here:
chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/ngc1365/
A Chandra-only image is here:
flic.kr/p/2h4jXkk
A wider, HST-only image is here:
flic.kr/p/2h3KPpa
This image was possible thanks to data from the following Chandra and HST proposals:
Solving the Enigmas of the Nearby Seyfert/Starburst Galaxy NGC1365 with Chandra ACIS-S
Active Galaxies and Quasars
PHANGS-HST: Linking Stars and Gas throughout the Scales of Star Formation
Chandra data:
Violet / Magenta overlay: ACIS .30-7.00 keV
Observation IDs: 3554, 6868-6873
HST data:
Red: WFC3/UVIS F814W
Green: WFC3/UVIS F555W
Blue: WFC3/UVIS F438W/F336W/F275W
North is 19° clockwise from up.
