Near a black hole at the heart of a distant galaxy is the mysterious region where a jet of subatomic particles spews outward at nearly the speed of light, forming a beam that extends nearly straight for thousands of light-years. For the first time, astronomers can see the region in which a cosmic jet is formed into a narrow beam. It is believed that magnetic fields are forming the stream of particles into a narrow jet. At the center of M87, material being drawn inward by the gravitational pull of the black hole is formed into a rapidly spinning flat disk, or accretion disk. Astronomers believe that subatomic particles are pushed outward from the poles of this disk. Magnetic fields in the disk are twisted tightly as the disk spins, then channel the electrically charged particles into a pair of narrow jets.
Credit: Material created with support from AURA/SCScI from NASA contract NAS5-26555.
