Stop-and-Start Young Radio Jets Detected From Galaxy 500 Million Light-Years From Earth

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Galaxy's Young Jets

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Multi-frequency composite VLBA picture of the galaxy TXS 0128+554, 500 million light-years from Earth. The image reveals young radio jets coming from near a supermassive great void at the core of the galaxy. The jets in this image began about 80 years back, stopped, then resumed about 10 years back. Credit: Lister et al.; Sophia Dagnello, NRAO/AUI/NSF

Very long standard range exposes item’s history.

In this image, made with the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), young, radio-emitting jets of product emerge from the core of an elliptical galaxy some 500 million light-years from Earth. After NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope identified high-energy gamma rays originating from the item, researchers utilized the VLBA to make high-resolution pictures of the galaxy, called TXS 0128+554.

This image is a composite of 6 VLBA images made at observing frequencies varying from 2.2 Ghz (GHz) to 22.2 GHz. The broad lobes on either side of the brilliant core are the outcome of jet activity that started approximately 80 years back. The space in between these lobes and the main area shows, the researchers stated, that the jet activity stopped at some point after that, then resumed about 10 years back.

Galaxy's Young Jets

Animated series of VLBA pictures of the galaxy TXS 0128+554, showing the radio frequency at which the image was made. Higher observing frequencies produce greater resolution, revealing smaller sized information. Credit: Lister et al.: Sophia Dagnello, NRAO/AUI/NSF.

“These are among the youngest known jets in such systems, and only a handful are known to emit gamma-rays,” stated Matthew Lister, of Purdue University.

The brilliant edges of the lobes are where the ejected product, moving at about a 3rd the speed of light, affected product within the galaxy. The brilliant discharging locations amount to about 35 light-years throughout, and are at the core of the galaxy, where a supermassive great void about one million times the mass of the Sun lives.

Lister and his associates are reporting their findings in the Astrophysical Journal.

Galaxy's Young Jets Annotated

Animated series (with labels) of VLBA pictures of the galaxy TXS 0128+554, showing the radio frequency at which the image was made. Higher observing frequencies produce greater resolution, revealing smaller sized information. Credit: Lister et al.; Sophia Dagenello, NRAO/AUI/NSF

To discover more about this research study, checked out NASA Missions Explore a “TIE Fighter” Active Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Reference: “TXS 0128+554: A Young Gamma-Ray-emitting Active Galactic Nucleus with Episodic Jet Activity” by M. L. Lister, D. C. Homan, Y. Y. Kovalev, S. Mandal, A. B. Pushkarev and A. Siemiginowska, 25 August 2020, Astrophysical Journal.
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aba18d

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a center of the National Science Foundation, run under cooperative arrangement by Associated Universities, Inc.