Animation of Black Hole Formation in SN 1979C
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This animation shows how a black hole may have formed in SN 1979C. The collapse of a massive star is shown, after it has exhausted its fuel. A flash of light from a shock breaking through the surface of the star is then shown, followed by a powerful supernova explosion. The view then zooms into the center of the explosion. Red, slow-moving material in a disk is shown falling onto the white neutron star that formed when the star collapsed. The rate of infall onto the neutron star increases until the star collapses into a black hole. Matter should continue to fall into the black hole and generate bright X-ray emission for many years.
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(Credit: NASA/CXC/A.Hobart)

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Images of Virgo Cluster, M100 and SN 1979C
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This sequence of images begins with a Digitized Sky Survey image showing part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It then zooms into the spiral galaxy M100 located in the top right corner. The Chandra X-ray image of M100 is then shown, with a label for SN 1979C, followed by a composite image that adds in optical data from the Very Large Telescope and infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope.
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(Credit: Widefield Optical: DSS; X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/D.Patnaude et al, Optical: ESO/VLT, Infrared: NASA/JPL/Caltech)

A Tour of SN 1979C
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The youngest known black hole in our cosmic neighborhood may have been found using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes. Evidence for this very young black hole was found in a supernova called 1979C, seen to explode about 30 years ago. Dr Dan Patnaude of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics led this study and discusses it with us.
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(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/D.Patnaude et al, Optical: ESO/VLT, Infrared: NASA/JPL/Caltech)