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NGC 1399:
Massive Black Hole Implicated in Stellar Destruction

An elliptical galaxy in the Fornax cluster that contains an ultraluminous X-ray source.
About 65 million light years from Earth.
X-rays from Chandra were overlaid on an optical image from the Hubble Space Telescope.
About 54,000 light years.
X-rays are blue and the optical data are yellow.
In the constellation Fornax (for "chemical funace"), viewable from the Southern Hemisphere. 
 

Evidence suggests that a white dwarf star has been torn apart by an intermediate-mass black hole.

This object is found in a globular cluster, a very old, very crowded grouping of stars.

If confirmed, this result would be the first time such a class of black hole was found in this setting.

This system is found in the elliptical galaxy NGC 1399, which is in the Fornax cluster.

Evidence from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Magellan telescopes suggest a star has been torn apart by an intermediate-mass black hole in a globular cluster. In this image, X-rays from Chandra are shown in blue and are overlaid on an optical image from the Hubble Space Telescope. The Chandra observations show that this object is a so-called ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX). An unusual class of objects, ULXs emit more X-rays than any known stellar X-ray source, but less than the bright X-ray sources associated with supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies. Their exact nature has remained a mystery, but one suggestion is that some ULXs are black holes with masses between about a hundred and a thousands times that of the Sun.

Data obtained in optical light with the Magellan I and II telescopes in Las Campanas, Chile, also provides intriguing information about this object, which is found in the elliptical galaxy NGC 1399 in the Fornax galaxy cluster. The spectrum reveals emission from oxygen and nitrogen but no hydrogen, a rare set of signals from within globular clusters. The physical conditions deduced from the spectra suggest that the gas is orbiting a black hole of at least 1,000 solar masses.

To explain these observations, researchers suggest that a white dwarf star strayed too close to an intermediate-mass black hole and was ripped apart by tidal forces. In this scenario the X-ray emission is produced by debris from the disrupted white dwarf star that is heated as it falls towards the black hole and the optical emission comes from debris further out that is illuminated by these X-rays.

Another interesting aspect of this object is that it is found within a globular cluster, a very old, very tight grouping of stars. Astronomers have long suspected globular clusters contained intermediate-mass black holes, but there has been no conclusive evidence of their existence there to date. If confirmed, this finding would represent the first such substantiation.
Fast Facts for NGC 1399:
Credit  X-ray: NASA/CXC/UA/J. Irwin; Optical: NASA/STScI
Scale  Image is 3 arcmin across
Category  Groups & Clusters of Galaxies
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 03h 38m 29.00s | Dec -35º 27' 01.40
Constellation  Fornax
Observation Date  6/8/2008
Observation Time  18 hours
Obs. ID  9530
Color Code  Energy (X-ray: Blue; Optical: Yellow)
Instrument  ACIS
Distance Estimate  About 65 million light years
Release Date  January 4, 2010

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Missing Children

Code Amber News Service (CANS) issued this Missing Endangered person Alert after the girl disappeared from her bedroom some time after 3 AM Tuesday morning in Satsuma. Satsuma is approximately 75 miles east of Gainsville.

Haleigh Cummings a white female, 3 feet tall, weighs 39 pounds and has blond hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt and underwear.

There are no suspects in this case at this time. However, due to the circumstances of the child's disappearance an abduction is strongly suspected.

There is no suspect vehicle at this time.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Putnam County Sheriff's office at (386) 329-0808 or dial 911.

Download free video of missing Florida child Haleigh Cummings

Email this alert to a friend in the area.

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