                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 October 1

                Porphyrion: The Longest Known Black Hole Jets
     Animation Credit: Science Communication Lab for Martijn Oei et al.,
                                   Caltech

   Explanation: How far can black hole jets extend? A new record was found
   just recently with the discovery of a 23-million light-year long jet
   pair from a black hole active billions of years ago. Dubbed Porphyrion
   for a mythological Greek giant, the impressive jets were created by a
   type of black hole that does not usually create long jets -- one that
   is busy creating radiation from infalling gas. The featured animated
   video depicts what it might look like to circle around this powerful
   black hole system. Porphyrion is shown as a fast stream of energetic
   particles, and the bright areas are where these particles are impacting
   surrounding gas. The discovery was made using data from the Keck and
   Mayall (DESI) optical observatories as well as LOFAR and the Giant
   Metrewave Radio Telescope. The existence of these jets demonstrates
   that black holes can affect not only their home galaxies but far out
   into the surrounding universe.

     Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?
                                 (post 1995)
                     Tomorrow's picture: big star cloud
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

