# @nasa on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CeozXI2u2qC
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/11732857-nasa-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/d8bbab2f6e.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-06-10T20:05:47.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** NASA (@NASA) — https://gondola.cc/NASA

## Caption

Raaaays and rings and… Cygni, Cygni⁣
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7,800 light years away from Earth, a black hole in a binary system called V404 Cygni pulls matter from a nearby companion star, forming it into a disk around itself. This process creates the light echoes we see here, appearing as blue concentric rings against a field of stars.⁣
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As the black hole pulls in star matter, X-rays are emitted. These X-rays travel through space, passing through dust clouds that scatter some of the X-rays toward us. Depending on the content of the dust clouds, different amounts of the X-rays will be absorbed and not detected with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, just like how different parts of our bodies absorb different amounts of X-rays.⁣
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By comparing the brightness of the X-rays to computer models of dust with different compositions, researchers determined that the dust between V404 Cygni and Earth most likely contains mixtures of graphite and silicate grains.⁣
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Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/U.Wisc-Madison/S. Heinz et al.; Optical/IR: Pan-STARRS⁣
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#xray #observatory #spacedust #galaxy #blackhole #stars #space #universe #astronomy #ring

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## Tags

observatory, xray, universe, space, ring, spacedust, galaxy, blackhole, stars, astronomy

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