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> Jet in the elliptical galaxy M87 seen in X-ray
Jet in the elliptical galaxy M87 seen in X-ray
author: Nasa/SAO/Novapix
reference: a-gax44-86003
Image Size 300 DPI: 11 * 7 cm
The X-ray image of the jet reveals an irregular, knotty structure similar to that detected by radio telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope. At the extreme left of the image, the bright galactic nucleus harboring a supermassive black hole shines. The jet is thought to be produced by strong electromagnetic forces created by matter swirling toward the supermassive black hole. These forces pull gas and magnetic fields away from the black hole along its axis of rotation in a narrow jet. Messier 87 (NGC 4486) lies near the centre of the nearby cluster of galaxies in Virgo at a distance of about 60 million light years. It contains several thousand billion stars. Like all ellipticals, M 87 is composed mainly of old stars and is largely devoid of the materials needed to make new ones.
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