Outburst in NGC 660

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Outburst in NGC 660

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) 305-meter William E. Gordon Telescope at Arecibo discovered an outburst in NGC 660, a spiral galaxy 44 million light-years distant in the constellation Pisces. The outburst, thought to be from a powerful belch by a gorging black hole at the galaxy’s center, was ten times brighter than the largest supernova, or exploding star.

Credit: Minchin et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF (HSA); Travis Rector, Gemini Observatory, AURA (optical)

Technical Details
Telescope	305-meter William E. Gordon Telescope
Band	-
Date	2012-07-29
Field of View	0.0007 x 0.0005 arcminutes

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Outburst in NGC 660

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