Jets from Radio Galaxy 3C296
Explanation:
Jets of streaming
plasma expelled by the central
black hole of a massive
elliptical galaxy
likely light up this composite image of
3C296.
The jets emanating from
NGC 5532 and are nearly a million
light years long.
Exactly how the
central black hole expels the
infalling matter is still unknown.
After clearing the galaxy, however, the
jets inflate large
radio bubbles that could glow for millions of years.
If excited by a passing front,
radio bubbles can even light up again after a billion years.
Visible light is depicted in the
above image in blue, while
radio waves are shown in red.
The radio map was created with the
Very Large Array of
radio telescopes.
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.
