Cygnus A (B&W)

https://www.nrao.edu/archives/plugins/Dropbox/files/CygA_VR10-1A_hi.jpg

Description

The radio source Cygnus A is produced in a galaxy some 600 million light-years away. The radio waves are coming from electrons propelled at nearly the speed of light through a long, thin "jet" at the core of the galaxy and deposited in giant "radio lobes." It is here where the speeding electrons are trapped by the magnetic field around the galaxy to produce radio waves much like the Van Allen radiation belts around the Earth. Where did all the electrons come from? From the bright, small radio component in the center of the galaxy -- the location of a black hole.
5 GHz, 0.5'' resolution. The galaxy is at a redshift of 0.057 (distance = 230 Mpc = 760 Mly).

Creator

Legacy Astronomical Images

Rights

NRAO/AUI/NSF does not hold full copyright for this image. Contact the archivist for details.

Type

Legacy Astronomical Image

Object Name

Cygnus A

Investigators

R. Perley, C. Carilli, J. Dreher

Telescope

Very Large Array (VLA)

Observation Date

1983-02-01

Type of Observation

continuum

Band

C

Wavelength

6 cm

Frequency

5.0 GHz

Center of Image

RA 19:59:28.360, Dec: 40:44:1.900

Field of View

0.038300 x 0.021700 degrees

Link to journal article

Notes

Contact the archivist for a high resolution tif of this image.

Series

Active Galactic Nuclei Series

Unit

Radio Galaxies Unit

Citation

Legacy Astronomical Images, “Cygnus A (B&W),” NRAO/AUI Archives, accessed December 24, 2024, https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/33384.