Imagine the Universe!

Animation of sound waves generated in Perseus cluster.
Movie (1.4 MB)

AUDIO:
None.

VIDEO:
This animation shows how sound waves are generated in the Perseus cluster from its central supermassive black hole. The gas that fills the cluster of galaxies is shown in red. The animation then zooms in to show the cluster's central black hole, which is seen as a white point. Next, blue-white jets of high-energy particles and magnetic fields blow out from the black hole, forming dark cavities in the cluster gas. When these cavities slow down, sound waves break off and travel away from the cavities. The animation then dissolves into Chandra's X-ray image of the cluster.

[Run Time: 16 sec]

Imagine the Universe is a service of the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), Dr. Nicholas White (Director), within the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

The Imagine Team
Project Leader: Dr. Jim Lochner
All material on this site has been created and updated between 1997-2004.

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