Chandra Release - October 24, 2012

Visual Description: NGC 4178

 The multipanel image features a galaxy called NGC 4178.  The main image is a fuzzy but brightly glowing galaxy with a loose spiral shape in the center of the image.  The galaxy is dominated by shades of cream and grey with a few pops of light blue, floating on a black background. The black hole is located in the middle of the spiral galaxy, shown in this image from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. An inset at upper left provides a close up of the center and shows a tiny purple Chandra X-ray Observatory source at the position of the black hole. An analysis of the data suggests that the black hole is near the extreme low-mass end of the supermassive black hole range.