|
Explanation: Spanning over 25,000 light-years, comparable to the distance from the Sun to the center of our own Milky Way galaxy, a cosmic jet seen in X-rays blasts from the center of Centaurus A. Only 10 million light-years away, Centaurus A is a giant elliptical galaxy - the closest active galaxy to Earth. This composite image illustrates the jumble of gas, dust, and stars visible in an optical picture of Cen A superposed on a new image recorded by the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory. The X-ray data is shown in red. Present theories hold that the X-ray bright jet is caused by electrons driven to extremely high energies over enormous distances. The jet's power source is likely to be a black hole with about 10 million times the mass of the Sun coincident with the X-ray bright spot at the galaxy's center. Amazingly, while some material in the vicinity of the black hole falls in, some material is blasted outward in energetic jets. Details of this cosmic power generator can be explored with the Chandra X-ray data.
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: black hole - jet - Centaurus A - active galaxy
Publications with words: black hole - jet - Centaurus A - active galaxy
See also:
- APOD: 2024 December 11 Á The Shells and Jets of Galaxy Centaurus A
- APOD: 2024 November 24 Á Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
- APOD: 2024 October 1 Á Porphyrion: The Longest Known Black Hole Jets
- APOD: 2024 June 16 Á Animation: Black Hole Destroys Star
- Simulation: Two Black Holes Merge
- The Galaxy, the Jet, and a Famous Black Hole
- APOD: 2024 May 8 Á Visualization: A Black Hole Accretion Disk