This composite X-ray (blue)/radio (pink) image of the galaxy cluster Abell 400 shows radio jets immersed in a vast cloud of multimillion degree X-ray emitting gas that pervades the cluster. The jets emanate from the vicinity of two supermassive black holes (bright spots in the image).

The X-rays observed by Chandra (inset) from the quasar SDSSp J1306 (or J1306) have taken 12.7 billion light years to reach Earth, only a billion years less than the estimated 13.7-billion-year age of the Universe. Surprisingly, in this quasar, which is seen as it was at an early epoch, the distribution of X-rays with energy - the X-ray spectrum - is indistinguishable from that of nearby, older quasars. The smaller object in the upper left of the image is a foreground galaxy.

This is a composite image of Chandra X-ray (blue) and VLA radio (red) observations showing the inner 4,000 light years of a magnetized jet in Centaurus A. Purple regions are bright in both radio and X-ray. The jet originates from the vicinity of the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy (lower right hand corner of the image).

M87

M87 close-up

A composite X-ray (blue), radio (pink and green), and optical (orange and yellow) image of the galaxy Centaurus A presents a stunning tableau of a galaxy in turmoil. A broad band of dust and cold gas is bisected at an angle by opposing jets of high-energy particles blasting away from the supermassive black hole in the nucleus. Two large arcs of X-ray emitting hot gas were discovered in the outskirts of the galaxy on a plane perpendicular to the jets.

Giant Disk of Cold Gas and Dust Fuels Possible Black Hole at the Core of NGC 4261

Wide View of Giant Radio Jet Coming From Spiral Galaxy

The Hubble Space Telescope's new Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) has provided the clearest view yet in visible light of the nearby quasar, 3C 273 [image at right]. Using the new camera's coronagraph to block the light from the brilliant central quasar, astronomers discovered that the quasar's host galaxy is significantly more complex than had been suggested in previous observations. Features in the surrounding galaxy that are normally drowned out by the quasar's glow now show up clearly. The ACS reveals a spiral plume wound around the quasar and a red dust lane. Material in the form of a clump and a blue arc are shown in the path of a jet that was blasted from the quasar.

McNamara et al. 2005, Nature 4.2 arcmin Energy ~ 6 x erg Most powerful radio burst known Diameter of cavities ~ 200 kpc Energy sufficient to quench 200 M sol /yr cooling flow for several Gyrs

Bubbles overpressured, drive shock. Age ~10 8 yrs burst powered by accretion onto a black hole equating energy to 0.1 Mc 2 yields accreted mass ~3 x 10 8 M sol

Left: keV unsharp-masked X-ray image (width 1 = 0.98 arcsec, width 2 = 9.8 arcsec). Regions brighter than average are light, those fainter are dark. Right: Overlay of contours from H-alpha image. Fabian et al. 2003