Apr 2, 2025, 07:30 PM IST

10 stunning images of black holes by NASA

Shweta Singh

The wide-field image of HE0435-1223 shows four nearly identical images of the distant quasar. These are created by the gravitational lensing effect of the foreground galaxy. 4o

HE0435-1223

The Hubble image highlights NGC 5793, a spiral galaxy 150 million light-years away in Libra. It features a striking dust lane and an exceptionally bright centre, outshining most spiral galaxies. 4o

NGC 5793

The composite image of NGC 1275, or Perseus A, reveals its dynamic structure by blending optical, radio, and X-ray data.

NGC 1275

Cygnus X-1, about 10,000 light-years away, is a powerful black hole pulling matter from its blue supergiant companion, HDE 226868.

Cygnus X-1

This image shows an intermediate-mass black hole tearing apart a star, forming a rotating accretion disc. The disc contains the remnants of the star, shredded by the black hole’s tidal forces. 4o

3XMM J215022.4−055108

This image depicts how J043947.08+163415.7, a distant quasar powered by a supermassive black hole, might appear up close. It is the brightest quasar discovered in the early Universe. 4o

J043947.08+163415.7

This image shows GRO J1655-40 (in blue), the second microquasar found in our Galaxy. These stellar-mass black holes, ranging from 3.5 to 15 times the Sun’s mass, mimic scaled-down quasars.

GRO J1655-40

This image shows Messier 15, a dense globular cluster that may host a central black hole. It is located 33,000 light-years away in the Pegasus constellation.

Black Hole, Messier 15

This image, captured by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), offers the clearest visible-light view of the nearby quasar 3C 273.

3C 273