SPACE.com -- X-ray Jets Shown In Nearby Galaxy

Chandra Takes X-ray of Nebula and Star

Chandra Telescope Sees Skeleton of Crab Nebula

Chandra Finds Oddly-Shaped Supernova

X-ray Probe in Place at Last


	X-ray Jets Shown In Nearby Galaxy posted: 02:37 pm ET 25 October 1999

EXTENDED X-RAY JET IN NEARBY GALAXY REVEALS ENERGY SOURCE

The latest images from NASAs newest space telescope reveal the fine detail of extremely long X-ray jets erupting from the center of a galaxy thought to harbor a massive black hole.

The jets, detected by the $1.5 billion Chandra X-ray Observatory that has been orbiting Earth since July, span a distance of more than 25,000 light years. (A light year is the distance light travels in a year -- almost 6 trillion miles.) The galaxy, Centaurus A, is about 11 million light years from Earth.

"For twenty years we have been trying to understand what produced the X rays seen in the Centaurus A jet," Schreier said. "Now we at last know that the X-ray emission is produced by extremely high energy electrons spiraling around a magnetic field."

Schreier said the length of the longest X-ray jet racing from the galaxy is comparable to half the diameter of our Milky Way galaxy.

Astronomers think the X-ray sources detected in Centaurus A are a by-product of a collision between galaxies several hundred million years ago, said Ethan Schreier of the Space Telescope Science Institute.

This collision is believed to have triggered a burst of star formation and supplied gas to fuel the activity of the central black hole.

Centaurus A has long been a favorite target of astronomers because it is the nearest example of a class of galaxies called "active galaxies." These are noted for their explosive activity, which is thought to result from black holes at their centers. The Chandra image shows intense X-ray activity at the center of Centaurus A, which jibes with the belief that its center harbors a black hole.

The bright jet extending out from the nucleus to the upper left in the Chandra image is due to explosive activity around the black hole which ejects matter at high speeds. A fainter "counter-jet" extending to the lower right can also be seen.

Scientists are intrigued by the apparent fact that black holes do not suck up all the matter that falls within their sphere of influence, as demonstrated by the jets shooting from Centaurus A.