Host Galaxy Cluster to Largest Known Radio Eruption

ABOUT THIS IMAGE:

This image of galaxy cluster MS 0735.6+7421 was taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory in November 2003. Diffuse, hot gas with a temperature of nearly 50 million degrees permeates the space between the galaxies in the cluster. The gas emits X-rays, which are seen as blue in this image. Enormous holes or cavities in the gas, each roughly 640,000 light-years in diameter — nearly seven times the diameter of the Milky Way are seen in the image. The cavities were created by jets of charged particles ejected at nearly light speed from a supermassive black hole weighing nearly a billion times the mass of our Sun, which lurks in the nucleus of the bright central galaxy.

Object Name: MS 0735.6+7421

Image Type: Astronomical

Credit: NASA/CXC, B. McNamara (University of Waterloo and Ohio University)

NEWS RELEASE IMAGES

The above image is part of a montage:

Montage Image: Galaxy Cluster MS 0735 Image Type: Astronomical/Illustration PRC2006-51 Composite Image of Galaxy Cluster MS 0735 Image Type: Astronomical Visible-Light Image of Galaxy Cluster MS 0735 Image Type: Astronomical Radio Image of Galaxy Cluster MS 0735 Image Type: Astronomical

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