Jet in the elliptical galaxy M87

by: Nasa/Hubble Heritage team/Novapix
Reference: a-gax44-86001
Date: 2006-09-11

M87 (also known as NGC 4486) is a giant elliptical galaxy; one of many ellipticals in the nearby Virgo cluster of galaxies. In the 1950s when the field of radio was blossoming, one of the brightest radio sources in the sky, Virgo A, was discovered to be associated with M87 and its jet. After decades of study, prompted by these discoveries, the source of this incredible amount of energy powering the jet has become clear. Lying at the center of M87 is a supermassive black hole, which has swallowed up a mass equivalent to 2 billion times the mass of our Sun.

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