|
JanahX -> RE: Space stuff (8/2/2011 12:27:18 AM)
|
But THIS is my favorite space subject matter of all time. I love this. This is the best of them all.
Black hole shoots out plasma jets that are even bigger than its galaxy
The galaxy in this picture is Centaurus A, but it's being upstaged in its own cosmic neighborhood. Its central black hole is emitting jets that are a million light-years long...and this is our best look yet at this mysterious phenomenon.
We still don't quite know how supermassive black holes like the one at the heart of Centaurus A create these massive jets. We're fairly sure that, under normal circumstances, these vast plasma trails will glow brightly for millions of years, and under the right circumstances could be reignited a billion years from now. NASA offers a little more insight into what these jets get up to:
These lobes are filled with matter streaming from particle jets near the galaxy's central black hole. Astronomers estimate that matter near the base of these jets races outward at about one-third the speed of light. The enormous energy output of galaxies like Cen A comes from gas falling toward a black hole weighing millions of times the sun's mass. Through processes not fully understood, some of this infalling matter is ejected in opposing jets at a substantial fraction of the speed of light. Detailed views of the jet's structure will help astronomers determine how they form. The jets strongly interact with surrounding gas, at times possibly changing a galaxy's rate of star formation. Jets play an important but poorly understood role in the formation and evolution of galaxies.
But this is the best part ... this is what makes me smile.
A MILLION LIGHT YEARS LONG.
One light year = Just under 6 trillion miles.
|
|
|
|
