Active Black Hole in the “Eye of Sauron” NGC 4151 is a spiral galaxy with an actively growing supermassive black hole at its center. This composite image of NGC 4151 contains X-rays from Chandra (blue), optical data (yellow), and radio emission (red). The structure has been dubbed “The Eye of Sauron” by astronomers due to its resemblance to the character in “The Lord of the Rings” movies. A recent study has shown that the X-ray emission was likely caused by an outburst powered by the supermassive black hole located in the white region in the center of the galaxy. Credit: Chandra X-Ray/ NASA/CXC/CfA/J.Wang et al

Active Black Hole in the “Eye of Sauron”

NGC 4151 is a spiral galaxy with an actively growing supermassive black hole at its center.

This composite image of NGC 4151 contains X-rays from Chandra (blue), optical data (yellow), and radio emission (red). The structure has been dubbed “The Eye of Sauron” by astronomers due to its resemblance to the character in “The Lord of the Rings” movies.

A recent study has shown that the X-ray emission was likely caused by an outburst powered by the supermassive black hole located in the white region in the center of the galaxy.

Credit: Chandra X-Ray/ NASA/CXC/CfA/J.Wang et al