Radio Galaxy Zoo Talk

So CURIOUS!

  • rtconr by rtconr

    WOW I would love to know if this is just perspective of a nearby or large galaxy that seems to be ejecting south, west, and in our direction with another source north of it and further away? I will learn to answer these question for myself, but I returned here after 2 years away and am so excited to see these images I would love to have discussions first to lead me in the right directions!

    I've seen a few more recent posts from users that were active even back then, I'd love to know who is still around!

    Thanks in advance for any reply to help clarify or guide my thinking to more concrete conclusions!

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  • 42jkb by 42jkb scientist, admin

    Hi rtconr - welcome back!

    this is indeed a rather weird object. By clicking on the FIRST link below the image to the left you will see a larger cutout of the area surrounding this (or these) object(s). This is rather complex in the radio image. Just looking at the infrared image I would say this is a cluster and the intracluster medium to bending the radio-emitting structures.

    The NASA extragalactic database (NED) https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/ is a good place to start looking for other information on objects. You can search by name, position, etc. One of the output of a query is the distance.

    For this particular source, it is a cluster around a redshift of 0.13.

    Hope this helps. Keep asking questions!

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  • rtconr by rtconr

    wow, first of all thank you very much for your time! it feels like it should be quite an honor to have that within reach, lol!

    I already feel the NED database will easily account for several dozen hours over the next few weeks!

    I understand that distance can be determined by the perceived redshift? How would this number correlate to a distance in l/yr? And I promise, at least for now, just one more question, are "super massive" black holes now so widely proven and accepted that we can assume that a large galaxy with these unimaginably large ejections are signatures of a black hole? I don't feel these questions were adequately addressed in the FAQ, and if I have the chance to have a conversation with someone who LIVES to understand the unbelievable things we see then I'll take it!

    Thanks again!

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

    If I may, I'll have a go at answering some of your questions, rtconr.

    I understand that distance can be determined by the perceived redshift? How would this number correlate to a distance in l/yr?

    For galaxies that have a redshift (usually written as "z") greater than ~0.005, you can use the modern version of the Hubble relationship, between distance and redshift (if z < ~0.005, the Hubble relationship is not always reliable; within our own Local Group, no use at all). Ned Wright has a useful online CosmoCalc, which you can use to plug in whatever value of z you want (you can leave all the other inputs as they are), and get several estimates of distance. To understand how distances are estimated - and why there are several different distances as outputs in CosmoCals - using the latest cosmological models, which are based on Einstein's General Relativity, Ned also has a useful Cosmology Tutorial.

    are "super massive" black holes now so widely proven and accepted that we can assume that a large galaxy with these unimaginably large ejections are signatures of a black hole?

    The short answer is "yes". 😄

    Most, if not all, large/normal galaxies are thought to have a super-massive black hole (SMBH) in their nuclei. It's not established if smaller galaxies do too; in particular, it seems that a lot of 'dwarf galaxies' lack an SMBH. Only a small minority of SMBH seem to be 'currently' producing radio jets, lobes, plumes, etc. With the exception of a tiny, tiny few, all SMBH which are associated with these jets etc are elliptical galaxies (or highly disturbed ones, undergoing a merger, for example). However, many galaxies have an AGN (active galactic nucleus), which may produce 'point source' radio emission; a kind of spiral galaxy called a Seyfert is often the host of such a radio-active AGN.

    One of the open questions in astrophysics today is just how are these incredibly powerful jets are produced; that the SMBHs' strong gravitational fields are the ultimate source of energy seems certain; however, how matter gets converted into highly relativistic jets is really unknown (there are lots of ideas and models of course).

    Hope this helps, and happy hunting! 😃

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  • ivywong by ivywong scientist, admin

    Thanks @JeanTate. Great job!

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