Dust Ring around an AGN (IMAGE)

University of Copenhagen - Niels Bohr Institute

Dust Ring around an AGN

Caption

When the gas falls in towards the black hole, it is heated up and emits ultraviolet radiation. The ultraviolet radiation heats the ring-shaped dust cloud, which orbits around the black hole at a distance and this causes the dust cloud to emit infrared radiation. Using telescopes on Earth, we can now measure the time difference between the light from the black hole and the light from the dust cloud. The time difference is 30 days.

Credit

(Artist's illustration: Marie Dyekjær Eriksen)

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(Artist's illustration: Marie Dyekjær Eriksen)

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