Return to Index

Previous Image

Next Image

Cygnus A is a powerful radio galaxy located in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. Cygnus is comprised of two large radio lobes that are powered by jets of high energy particles coming from the central radio core. These giant lobes span a distance of at least 500,000 light years. These lobes form when the jets collide with intergalactic material, causing the jets to slow down. The radiation from these jets result from a process called "synchrotron radiation." This radiation occurs when electrons traveling at extremely high speeds move along strong magnetic fields. Even at 700 million light years away, Cygnus is still one of the closest radio galaxies to the Milky Way and also one of the brightest radio sources in the sky.
(Courtesy of National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array of radio telescopes.)
References:
http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/radio_galaxy.html
http://mamacass.ucsd.edu:8080/people/pblanco/cyga.html
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cycle1/0216/index.html
Animation of Contrast

Click Image to Enlarge