Name: NASA highlights a massive black hole blazing fiery plasma trails across the cosmos
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NASA highlights a massive black hole blazing fiery plasma trails across the cosmos

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The focus of this new image share from NASA — a photo composite featuring imagery captured by the Hubble Space Telescope and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico — is Hercules A.The distant galaxy, also known as 3C 348, is the bright spot right in the middle of the below image. Those long, gorgeous trails of red are plasma jets that span roughly 1.5 million light-years of distance. They're invisible to the naked eye, but we see them here in beautiful shades of red, pink, and purple thanks to the VLA.As for the cause of these enormous plasma jets, look no further than the massive black hole that sits at the center of 3C 348.It's an elliptical galaxy that's roughly 1,000 times larger than our own Milky Way. Same goes for the black hole the galaxy formed around; it's also about 1,000 times larger than the one at the center of our Milky Way, at around 2.5 billion solar mass. (Many galaxies are believed to have formed around supermassive black holes.)"Emitting nearly a billion times more power in radio wavelengths than our Sun, the galaxy is one of the brightest extragalactic radio sources in the entire sky," .The plasma jets move through space at close to the speed of light. Hubble's site also points out that the bulbous, "ring-like structures" at the end of each jet suggests the distant galaxy's black hole has sent them hurtling outwards into space more than once.Always remember when you're looking at photos like these that they're actually snapshots from the distant past. The Hubble team captured this particular image in 2012, but 3C 348 is an estimated 2 billion light-years away. That means, roughly speaking, a photo taken today is capturing a scene from 2 billion years ago.It's important to maintain perspective when we're peering at pictures of space. This single scene that you're probably looking at on a smartphone or tablet covers an inconceivable stretch of distance. And even though the photo itself was snapped almost a decade ago, the scene that's pictured played out around 2 billion years ago, at a time when that significantly predates our history as a species.UPDATE: April 18, 2021, 10:10 a.m. EDT An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed this image entirely to the Hubble Space Telescope. In fact it also features imagery from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico. Likewise, a brief quote that appears above and was previously attributed to the Hubble website is actually from the website of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory website. The VLA is part of the NRAO's operations.Way too many Twitter employees have access to user data, according to Twitter's former head of security.1 hour agoByWe're ready for that sweet holocake, baby!09/12/2022ByIf the iPhone is going to keep creating higher quality photo and video, iCloud storage options need to match.09/11/2022ByChoose between the new Apple Watch 8, the Apple Watch Ultra, or the redesigned SE.09/09/2022ByAre the new upgrades worth it? Maybe.09/09/2022ByFemale monkeys are more selective with their stones.08/28/2022ByWhat an absolute unit.08/21/2022ByPaleontologists estimate that it's been 100 million years since this dinosaur last roamed the Earth.08/15/2022ByLooking up at the night sky is always worth it.08/06/2022ByDon't worry! They've got terrible aim.07/30/2022ByIs 'Wordle' #451 stumping you? Here are some tips and tricks to help you find the answer.22 hours agoByThe good, the bad, and the WTF.12 hours agoByThis is good to go? Everyone fine with it? OK...14 hours agoByRalph is the first Black woman to win in her category in 35 years.22 hours agoByIs 'Wordle' #450 stumping you? Here are some tips and tricks to help you find the answer.09/12/2022ByThe biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.By signing up to the Mashable newsletter you agree to receive electronic communicationsfrom Mashable that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content.Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!

The focus of this new image share from NASA — a photo composite featuring imagery captured by the Hubble Space Telescope and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico — is Hercules A.The distant galaxy, also known as 3C 348, is the bright spot right in the middle of the below image. Those long, gorgeous trails of red are plasma jets that span roughly 1.5 million light-years of distance. They're invisible to the naked eye, but we see them here in beautiful shades of red, pink, and purple thanks to the VLA.As for the cause of these enormous plasma jets, look no further than the...

NASA highlights a massive black hole blazing fiery plasma trails across the cosmos

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