Chandra Release - February 2, 2016

Visual Description: Pictor A

The image features an X-ray and radio view of galaxy Pictor A with a massive jet produced by a supermassive black hole in its core.  The image is dominated by red and blue colors, with one main bright spot visible in the center of the image and a couple dozen other tiny bright spots lightly sprinkled in the image.   The structure of the image could be described as a slight dumbbell shape, with two lobes colored in red connected by a thick blue cloudy area and a bright jet streaking across ¾ of the image, towards the right side.  To obtain images of the Pictor A jet, scientists used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory at various times over 15 years. Chandra's X-ray data (colored in blue) were combined with radio data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (red) in this composite image.  The jet to the right in Pictor A is the one that is closest to us. It displays continuous X-ray emission over a distance of 570,000 light years. By comparison, the entire Milky Way is about 100,000 light years in diameter.  There is also a dimmer counterjet visible in the X-ray that goes to the left.