3C175: Quasar Cannon
Explanation:
3C175 is not only a quasar, it is a galaxy-fueled particle cannon.
Visible as the central dot is
quasar 3C175, the
active center of a galaxy so
distant that the light we see from it was emitted when the
Earth was
just forming.
The
above image was recorded in
radio waves by an array of house-sized telescopes
called the
Very Large Array (VLA).
Shooting out from 3C175 is a thin
jet of
protons and
electrons
traveling near the
speed of light that is over one million
light-years long.
The
jet acts like a
particle cannon and bores through
gas cloud in its path.
How this
jet forms and why it is so narrow remain
topics of
current
research.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
