February 26, 2002
On the day you were born, another consciousness opened inside the cosmos and began taking notes.
Jets from Radio Galaxy 3C296
Birthday · February 26, 2002
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published February 26, 2002. Credit: AUI, NRAO. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Jets of streaming plasma expelled by the central black hole of a massive elliptical galaxy likely light up this composite image of 3C296. The jets emanating from NGC 5532 and are nearly a million light years long. Exactly how the central black hole expels the infalling matter is still unknown. After clearing the galaxy, however, the jets inflate large radio bubbles that could glow for millions of years. If excited by a passing front, radio bubbles can even light up again after a billion years. Visible light is depicted in the above image in blue, while radio waves are shown in red. The radio map was created with the Very Large Array of radio telescopes.
Image credit: AUI, NRAO