The
radio image shows many similarities to the X ray image: two lobes on either
side of the nucleus. The lobes have bright spots where the radiation is
especially intense. The radio lobes are produced by the synchrotron process,
where high-energy electrons move through a magnetic field and radiate radio
waves. If the energies of the electrons are high enough, this process can
also produce optical and X radiation. Study of the radio lobes indicates
that they were blasted out at high speeds from the supermassive black hole
in the nucleus less than a million years ago.
|
 |
Angular
size of box = 8 arcsec, corresponding to 180,000 light years.
|
|
