Zooming into the black hole jet in M87
This video begins with a view of the stars and galaxies in the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin). We zoom into the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87, which lies near the centre of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. A high-speed jet of hot plasma is buried deep inside the galaxy. A supermassive black hole ejects the jet at nearly the speed of light. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope time-lapse movie captures the movement of the jet over a timespan of 13 years.
Links:
- NASA Press release
- Image: Hubble follows spiral flow of black-hole-powered jet
- Image: Magnetic funnel around a supermassive black hole
NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)
Constellation Region of Galaxy M87 credit: A. Fujii
Galaxy M87 credit: R. Gendler
Hubble View of M87 Jet credit: NASA, ESA, E. Meyer, W. Sparks, J. Biretta, J. Anderson, S.T. Sohn, and R. van der Marel (STScI), C. Norman (Johns Hopkins University), and M. Nakamura (Academia Sinica), and G. Bacon (STScI)
About the Video
| Id: | opo1332a |
| Release date: | 23 August 2013, 08:35 |
| Duration: | 46 s |
| Frame rate: | 30 fps |
About the Object
| Name: | M87, Messier 87 |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Elliptical Local Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Black Hole Local Universe : Galaxy : Size : Giant |
| Category: | Galaxies |
