Chandra Release - January 10, 2005

Visual Description: Galactic Center X-ray Binaries

This portrait of the Milky Way’s core is rendered in spectral hues of vibrant teal, where four luminous white orbs stand out in the image. These are X-ray binaries locked in gravitational embrace, siphoning light from their companions near the supermassive heart of our galaxy.  The four bright, variable X-ray sources captured by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory are circled in white, and are shown at 10, 12, 3 and 6 o'clock, labelled as A, B, D and C respectively.  They were discovered within 3 light years of Sgr A* (a bright white source just above Source C). A lower panel illustrates the strong variability of one of these sources, Source A, going from off in the year 2000 to very bright in 2002 and 2003, with a slight dimming in 2004. The variability, which is present in all the sources, is indicative of an X-ray binary system where a black hole or neutron star is pulling matter from a nearby companion star.