As is often the case in astronomy, the invisible proves more revealing than the visible. Here radio radiation at a wavelength of 6 centimeters discloses numerous details of the M87 jet that are not detectable in visible light. The small, bright region in the imageΓÇÖs center is the jetΓÇÖs source and is probably associated with a huge disk of gas known as an accretion disk that feeds matter into an insatiable black hole. The jet extends to the right, shooting like water from a firehose, and ends in a diffuse region of radio emission called a radio lobe. To the left is another, apparently disconnected region of radio emission. Astronomers believe this second radio lobe is the terminus of yet another jet, not seen here.
