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Cygnus A:
Catching a Galactic Football
This Chandra image shows a giant
football-shaped cavity (yellow/light orange inner
region) within X-ray emitting hot gas surrounding the
galaxy Cygnus A. The cavity in the hot gas has
been created by two powerful jets emitted from the
central black hole region in the nucleus of Cygnus A.
Hot gas is steadily being piled up around the cavity as
it continuously expands, creating a bright rim of X-ray
emission (bright orange outer area).
Illustration of
Cygnus A
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Cygnus A is not alone in its galactic neighborhood, but
is a member of a large cluster containing many
galaxies. Extremely hot (tens of millions of degrees
Celsius) gas is spread between the galaxies. Although
it has a very low density, this gas provides enough
resistance to slow down the outward advancement of the
particle jets from Cygnus A. The jets themselves
terminate in radio and X-ray emitting "hot spots" some
300,000 light years from the center of the galaxy.
Scientists believe that fast atomic particles and
magnetic fields from the jets spill out into the
region, providing pressure that continuously inflates
the cavity.
| Fast Facts for Cygnus A: |
| Credit |
NASA/UMD/A.Wilson et al. |
| Scale |
Image is 3.3 x 2 arcmin |
| Category |
Quasars & Active Galaxies |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 19h 59m 28.30s | Dec +40° 44' 02.00" |
| Constellation |
Cygnus |
| Observation Dates |
May 21, 2000
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| Observation Time |
9 hours |
| Obs. IDs |
360
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| Instrument |
ACIS |
| Distance Estimate |
700 million light years |
| Release Date |
November 06, 2000 |
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