Radio Galaxy Zoo Talk

3+1 radio sources

  • tcwang by tcwang

    a pair of symmetric radio jets and ?

    Posted

  • JeanTate by JeanTate in response to tcwang's comment.

    Welcome to Radio Galaxy Zoo, tcwang! 😃

    This is a very nice example of a #triple, which is a galaxy (called the host) whose nucleus is a strong emitter of radio waves, plus two #lobes, with the host more or less in the middle (as the host is a strong radio emitter, it's also called a #core). I think the host is SDSS J234738.15+085246.4, which has a redshift of 0.292 (per NED); here's what it looks like in SDSS:

    enter image description here

    It's extremely bright! Well, the nucleus of the galaxy is; such bright nuclei are called AGN (active galactic nuclei), and as it's so bright, likely a QSO (quasi-stellar object), or quasar.

    I don't think you can see any jets in the radio image (and none in the optical either); rather, the hotspots where the jets come to a stop in the inter-galactic medium, and the plumes of hot plasma ("bubbles") which are produced as a result.

    Hope this helps, and happy hunting! 😃

    Posted