Chandra imaging spectroscopy of 1E 1740.7 - 2942

We have observed the black hole candidate 1E 1740.7 - 2942, the brightest persistent hard X-ray source within a few degrees of the Galactic centre, for 10 ksec with Chandra (ACIS-I) on August 2000. Attempting to compensate for pile-up effects we found the spectra were well-fit by an absorbed power law, with photon indices Gamma = 1.54 ^{+0.42}_{-0.37} (readout streak) and Gamma = 1.42^{+0.14}_{-0.14} (annulus), consistent with a black hole low/hard state. We have analysed a public observation performed by Chandra which utilised short frames in order to avoid severe pile-up effects: subtracting the core point spread function from the whole image, we did not find evidence for any elongated feature perpendicular to the radio jet axis, as reported in a recent analysis of the same data. Moreover, comparing the radial profiles with those of an unscattered X-ray point source, we found indication of an extended, previously undetected, X-ray scattering halo. The measured halo fractional intensity at 3 keV is between 30 and 40 percent within 40 arcsec but drops below detectable levels at 5 keV. Finally, by placing a limit on the X-ray flux from the radio emitting lobe which has been identified as the hot spot at the end of the northern jet of 1E 1740.7 - 2942, we are able to constrain the magnetic energy density in that region.