Chandra Release - October 06, 2009

Visual Description: NGC 6240

A spectacular image of a galaxy named NGC 6240 is shown in X-ray and optical light. The dominant colors in this image are red, orange, and yellow on a background of grey, dark brown and finally, black. The galaxy appears to be shaped like a large flattened grey butterfly, face down, with a much smaller orange butterfly on top of it.   Two tiny bright spots reside in the very center of the orange butterfly. X-ray data from Chandra are shown in red, orange, and yellow.  That has been combined with an optical image from the Hubble Space Telescope in greys and browns. In 2002, the discovery of two merging black holes was announced based on Chandra data in this galaxy. The two black holes are a mere 3,000 light years apart and are seen as the two bright point-like sources in the middle of the image.