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Supermassive Black Holes in Hubble Ultra Deep Field

A black background of space, sprinkled with thousands of galaxies of all shapes and sizes. In the middle of the picture is an inset box showing a closeup of a pair of galaxies from the background. The larger galaxy is spiral-shaped. The other is spindle-shaped because the galaxy is seen edge-on. The smaller galaxy has a line that points to the words "supermassive black hole" that connects to a bright white spot in the middle of it.

This is a new image of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The first deep imaging of the field was done with Hubble in 2004. The same survey field was observed again by Hubble several years later, and was then reimaged in 2023. By comparing Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 near-infrared exposures taken in 2009, 2012, and 2023, astronomers found evidence for flickering supermassive black holes in the hearts of early galaxies. One example is seen as a bright object in the inset. Some supermassive black holes do not swallow surrounding material constantly, but in fits and bursts, making their brightness flicker. This can be detected by comparing Hubble Ultra Deep Field frames taken at different epochs. The survey found more black holes than predicted.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    03:32:43.419
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -27:47:14.198
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Fornax
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    10.4 billion light-years to supermassive black hole (z=2)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 2.0 arcmin across

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    The image was created from Hubble data from the following proposals: 9978, 10086 (S. Beckwith); 11563 (G. Illingworth); 12498 (R. Ellis); and 17073 (M. Hayes); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI) 

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    ACS/WFC, WFC3/IR
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    September 2003 to January 2004, August 2009 to January 2011, August-September 2012, August 2023
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F435W, F606W, F775W, F814W, F850LP, F105W, F125W, F140W, F160W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Hubble Ultra Deep Field; 1051264
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Supermassive black hole in distant galaxy
  • Release Date
    September 17, 2024
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Hubble Finds More Black Holes than Expected in the Early Universe
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, Matthew Hayes (Stockholm University); Acknowledgment: Steven V.W. Beckwith (UC Berkeley), Garth Illingworth (UC Santa Cruz), Richard Ellis (UCL); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

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A black background of space, sprinkled with thousands of galaxies of all shapes and sizes. In the middle of the picture is an inset box showing a closeup of a pair of galaxies from the background. The larger galaxy is spiral-shaped. The other is spindle-shaped because the galaxy is seen edge-on. The smaller galaxy has a line that points to the words "supermassive black hole" that connects to a bright white spot in the middle of it.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are composites of separate exposures acquired by the ACS and WFC3 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F435W + F606W Green: F775W + F814W + F850LP + F105W Red: F125W + F140W + F160W

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

Image titled “Hubble Ultra Deep Field, Hubble Space Telescope” with color key and compass arrows on a black background of space, sprinkled with thousands of galaxies of all shapes and sizes. In the middle of the picture is an inset box showing a closeup of a pair of galaxies from the background. The larger galaxy is spiral-shaped. The other is spindle-shaped because the galaxy is seen edge-on. The smaller galaxy has a line that points to the words "supermassive black hole" that connects to a bright white spot in the middle of it. At the bottom left is a color key showing which filters were used to create the image and which color is assigned to each filter: ACS/WFC filters F435W, F606W, in blue; ACS/WFC filters F775W, F814W, F850LP and the WFC3/IR filter F105W, in green; WFC3/IR filters F125W, F140W, F160W, in red. At the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The east arrow points toward 9 o’clock. The north arrow points to the 12 o’clock direction.

HUDF Compass Image

This is a new image of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The first deep imaging of the field was done with Hubble in 2004. The same survey field was observed again by Hubble several years later, and was then reimaged in 2023. By comparing Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 near-infrared...

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 06, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Science Credit

NASA, ESA, Matthew Hayes (Stockholm University)

Acknowledgment Credit

Steven Beckwith (UC Berkeley), Garth Illingworth (UC Santa Cruz), Richard Ellis (UCL)

Image Processing Credit

Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

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