[Left] In this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the central region of the galaxy NGC 3862, an extragalactic jet of material moving at nearly the speed of light can be seen at the three o'clock position. The jet of ejected plasma is powered by energy from a supermassive black hole at the center of the elliptical galaxy, which is located 260 million light-years away in the constellation of Leo.
[Right] A sequence of Hubble images of knots (outlined in red, green, and blue) shows them moving along the jet over a 20-year span of observing. Astronomers were surprised to discover that the central knot (green) caught up with and merged with the knot in front of it (blue). The new analysis suggests that shocks produced by collisions within the jet further accelerate particles that are confined to a narrowly focused beam of radiation. The "X" marks the location of the black hole.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and E. Meyer (STScI)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | 3C 264, NGC 3862 |
| Object Description | Active Radio Galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 11h 45m 5.01s |
| Dec. Position | 19° 36' 22.75" |
| Constellation | Leo |
| Distance | 300 million light-years (91 Mpc) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Observations of 3C 264 were taken from Hubble data from the following proposals: : E. Meyer, W.B. Sparks, J. Biretta, R. van der Marel, J. Anderson, and S.T. Sohn (STScI), M. Chiaberge (STScI/ESA), C. Norman (JHU), E. Perlman (Florida Institute of Technology), M. Nakamura (Academia Sinica, Taiwan), and from the following archival proposals: : J. Biretta and W.B. Sparks (STScI), , PI: H. Ford (JHU) et al., and , PI: W.B. Sparks (STScI) et al. The science team comprises: E. Meyer (STScI), M. Georganopoulos (UMBC/NASA GSFC), W.B. Sparks (STScI), E. Perlman (Florida Institute of Technology), R. van der Marel, J. Anderson (STScI), S.T. Sohn (JHU), J. Biretta (STScI), C. Norman (STScI/JHU), and M. Chiaberge (STScI/ESA). |
| Instrument | HST>ACS and HST>WFPC2 |
| Exposure Dates | December 24, 1994, May 19, 1996, March 30, 2002, May 21, 2014 |
| Filters | WFPC2: F702W, F791W, and ACS: F606W |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
