Paula Cleggett-Haleim

Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

January 16, 1992
(Phone: 202/453-1547)

9:30 A.M. EST

Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
(Phone: 410/338-4514)

Dr. Tod Lauer

National Optical Astronomical Observatories, Tuscon, Ariz.
(Phone: 602/325-9290)

Dr. Sandra Faber

University of California, Santa Cruz
(Phone: 408/459-2944)

RELEASE: 92-10

NASA'S HST FINDS EVIDENCE OF BLACK HOLE IN NUCLEUS OF GALAXY M87

Astronomers reported today that they have found intriguing

evidence that a black hole, weighing over 2.6 billion times the
mass of the sun, exists at the center of the giant elliptical
galaxy M87, based upon images taken by NASA's Hubble Space
Telescope (HST). The images show that stars become strongly
concentrated towards the center of M87, as if drawn into the
center and held there by the gravitational field of a massive
black hole.

These results were reported at the 179th meeting of the

American Astronomical Society in Atlanta by Dr. Tod R. Lauer,
National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO), Tuscon, Ariz.;
Dr. Sandra M. Faber, University of California, Santa Cruz; Dr. C.
Roger Lynds, NOAO, and other members of the HST Wide
Field/Planetary Camera (WF/PC) Imaging Team.

M87 is at the center of a nearby cluster of galaxies in the

constellation of Virgo, 52 million light-years distant, and
contains more than 100 billion stars. One of the brightest
galaxies in the local universe, M87 is visible in even small
telescopes.

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Early in this century astronomers discovered a gigantic plume

or "jet" of plasma apparently ejected out of the M87 nucleus.
Later, the jet and nucleus were found to emit strong radio and
X-ray radiation. However, the nature of the central "engine'' of
this activity has long remained a mystery.

In 1978, the late Peter Young, California Institute of

Technology, leading a team of astronomers, announced that the
central portions of M87 visible from the ground appeared to be
dominated by the gravity of a massive black hole. However, prior
to the HST observations, more recent ground-based observational
and theoretical studies have failed to confirm this picture.

Lauer, Faber, Lynds and co-investigators on the WF/PC imaging

team used the new images obtained with the HST Planetary Camera to
explore the central structure of M87 much closer into its nucleus
than is possible from the ground. The images show clearly that
the stars in M87 become densely concentrated towards the center,
forming a bright "cusp" of light at the heart of the galaxy.

The central density of stars in M87 is at least 300 times

greater than expected for a normal giant elliptical galaxy and
over 1,000 times denser than the distribution of stars in the
neighborhood of the sun. In fact, the ultimate central density of
stars in M87 may be even higher, but its measurement is beyond the
resolving power of even HST.

"The central structure of M87 is a striking departure from

what the normal core of a giant elliptical galaxy would look
like," said Lauer. "It strongly resembles a stellar cusp
associated with a black hole." The cusp is visible as the steady
increase in brightness of M87 toward its center. Theoretical work
suggests that such a cusp may form as a central black hole grows
and cause the center of the galaxy to collapse outwards.

Early in the life of M87 a "seed" black hole may have formed
in its nucleus from the merger of small black holes created by the
explosion of massive stars or perhaps from the gravitational
collapse of gas left over from the formation of M87. Once formed,
the seed black hole would grow by feeding on gas and stars that
passed by too closely. As the mass of the black hole increased,
its gravity would begin to dominate an increasingly larger volume
of space.

Stars, once freely orbiting in and out of the M87 core, would
be gradually pulled towards the center and then into orbits
closely bound to the black hole. The whole core of the galaxy
thus smoothly collapses inward, and the density of stars near the
very center becomes extreme. Some of these stars eventually may
be consumed by the black hole, fueling its growth further. This
leads to an interesting paradox that one way to look for a black
hole is to search for a strong concentration of starlight at the
center of a galaxy.

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The mass of the black hole is estimated at 2.6 billion times

that of the sun, based on comparing the density of stars in the
cusp to theoretical models computed by Peter Young a decade ago.

Lauer emphasizes, however, that the HST images alone do not

prove conclusively the black hole's presence. "It looks like a
'duck' but we haven't heard it 'quack' yet," he observed.
Follow-on HST spectroscopic observations are needed to measure the
velocity of stars orbiting within the nucleus. High velocities
would be evidence of a black hole and would provide astronomers
with direct measurement of its mass.

The search for super massive black holes in the cores of

galaxies is one of the primary missions of NASA's Hubble Space
Telescope. By investigating both active and quiescent galaxies,
astronomers will have a better idea of the conditions and events
which lead to the formation and growth of super-massive black
holes.

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A videotape showing three sequences of M87 is available by calling

NASA Headquarters Audio-Visual Branch on 202/453-8594.

Also, a photograph to accompany this release is available by

calling NASA Headquarters Audio-Visual Branch on 202/453-8375:
B&W: 92-H-23
COlor: 92-HC-21