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M87: Galactic Super-volcano in Action
M87
M87
Visual Description:

  • A new composite image of M87 features X-rays from Chandra (blue) and radio emission from the Very Large Array (red-orange).

  • This massive galaxy contains a giant black hole at its core that is producing massive jets of energetic particles.

  • The interaction of these jets with surrounding hot gas has similar properties to the recent eruption of an Icelandic volcano.

This image shows the eruption of a galactic "super-volcano" in the massive galaxy M87, as witnessed by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NSF's Very Large Array (VLA). At a distance of about 50 million light years, M87 is relatively close to Earth and lies at the center of the Virgo cluster, which contains thousands of galaxies.

The cluster surrounding M87 is filled with hot gas glowing in X-ray light (shown in blue) that is detected by Chandra. As this gas cools, it can fall toward the galaxy's center where it should continue to cool even faster and form new stars.

However, radio observations with the VLA (red-orange) suggest that in M87 jets of very energetic particles produced by the black hole interrupt this process. These jets lift up the relatively cool gas near the center of the galaxy and produce shock waves in the galaxy's atmosphere because of their supersonic speed.

The interaction of this cosmic "eruption" with the galaxy's environment is very similar to that of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland that occurred in 2010. With Eyjafjallajokull, pockets of hot gas blasted through the surface of the lava, generating shock waves that can be seen passing through the grey smoke of the volcano. This hot gas then rises up in the atmosphere, dragging the dark ash with it. This process can be seen in a movie of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano where the shock waves propagating in the smoke are followed by the rise of dark ash clouds into the atmosphere.


Video: Omar Ragnarsson

In the analogy with Eyjafjallajokull, the energetic particles produced in the vicinity of the black hole rise through the X-ray emitting atmosphere of the cluster, lifting up the coolest gas near the center of M87 in their wake. This is similar to the hot volcanic gases that drag up the clouds of dark ash. And just like the volcano here on Earth, shock waves can be seen when the black hole pumps energetic particles into the cluster gas. The energetic particles, coolest gas and shock waves are shown in a labeled version.

M87 Labeled

Visual Description:

The composite image of the galaxy M87 shows a large, brightly glowing object in the center that has swirls and filaments all around it. The object resembles a strange red, orange and pale blue jellyfish, swimming in a dark blue sea. This central object is actually the area around a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. Around the central object, there are several tiny objects that appear as white or light-colored dots. This image shows the eruption of a galactic "super-volcano" in the massive galaxy M87, as witnessed by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NSF's Very Large Array (VLA). The cluster surrounding M87 is filled with hot gas glowing in X-ray light ( in blue) that is detected by Chandra. As this gas cools, it can fall toward the galaxy's center where it should continue to cool even faster and form new stars. However, radio observations with the VLA in (red-orange) suggest that in M87 jets of very energetic particles produced by the black hole interrupt this process. These jets lift up the relatively cool gas near the center of the galaxy and produce shock waves in the galaxy's atmosphere because of their supersonic speed. The interaction of this cosmic "eruption" with the galaxy's environment is very similar to that of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland that occurred in 2010, shown as a small photo inset to the lower right. With Eyjafjallajokull, pockets of hot gas blasted through the surface of the lava, generating shock waves that can be seen passing through the grey smoke of the volcano. This hot gas then rises up in the atmosphere, dragging the dark ash with it.

 

Fast Facts for M87:
Credit  X-ray (NASA/CXC/KIPAC/N. Werner, E. Million et al); Radio (NRAO/AUI/NSF/F. Owen) Volcano image: Omar Ragnarsson
Release Date  August 18, 2010
Scale  Image is 14 arcmin across (about 200,000 light years).
Category  Black Holes, Quasars & Active Galaxies
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 12h 30m 49.40s | Dec +12° 23´ 28.00"
Constellation  Virgo
Observation Date  2 pointings in Jul 2002, and 7 between Jan and Nov 2005
Observation Time  159 hours (6 days 15 hours)
Obs. ID  2707, 3717, 5826-5828, 6186, 7210-7212
Instrument  ACIS
Also Known As NGC 4486
References Werner, N. et al, 2010, MNRAS, in press. Million, E. et al. 2010, MNRAS, in press.
Color Code  X-ray (blue), Radio (red-orange)
Radio
X-ray
Distance Estimate  About 50 million light years
distance arrow
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