# @europeanspaceagency on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DM3ktvrt88d
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/35582105-europeanspaceagency-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/11672f27a8.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-08-02T21:50:00.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** J.L.Lopez (@xandler80) — https://gondola.cc/xandler80

## Caption

Space sleuths at work! 🔭

nasachandraxray Observatory and hubbleesa have joined forces to uncover a rare cosmic suspect: a possible intermediate-mass black hole — the elusive “Goldilocks” kind, not too big, not too small.

Dubbed NGC 6099 HLX-1, this bright X-ray source is likely hiding inside a compact star cluster on the outskirts of a giant elliptical galaxy, some 450 million light-years away in the constellation Hercules.

- Chandra spotted powerful X-rays, a tell-tale sign that something extreme was happening.
- Hubble zoomed in to reveal the stellar neighbourhood, helping pinpoint where the black hole is ripping apart a star.

Intermediate-mass black holes are notoriously hard to find — they usually lie dormant, unlike their supermassive cousins. But catch one in the act of devouring a star, and the Universe lights up.

Thanks to this stellar teamwork, we’re one step closer to understanding how black holes grow and evolve across the cosmos.

📸 NASA, europeanspaceagency , Y.C. Chang (nthu_official), J. DePasquale (space_telescopes); creativecommons BY 4.0

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 11,329
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- **Comments:** 43

## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ESA - European Space Agency | @europeanspaceagency | https://gondola.cc/europeanspaceagency | Government Organization |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Producer |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Editor |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Social Media Manager |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Publisher |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Copywriter |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Community Manager |

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