chandra_137 October 3rd, 2002
Credit: Left: X-ray (NASA/CXC); Right: Illustration (CXC/M.Weiss)
A series of images from Chandra has revealed the evolution of large-scale X-ray jets traveling at near the speed of light. Following an outburst of X-rays from the black hole, observations with Chandra and radio telescopes detected first one jet (left), then another opposing jet (right) of high-energy particles moving away from the black hole at about half the speed of light. Four years after the outburst, the jets had moved more than 3 light years apart with the left jet slowing down and disappearing. The schematic shows gaseous matter being pulled from a normal star to form a disk around the black hole. When the gas is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees it gives off X-rays and intense electromagnetic forces in the disk can expel jets of high-energy particles.
Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory
Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2002/xtej1550/
Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA
Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
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