Radio Quasar 3C175

This image shows the radio emission from relativistic streams of high energy particles generated by the quasar. This is a classic double-lobed radio source. Astronomers believe that the jets are fueled by material accreting onto a super-massive black hole at the center of the host galaxy (not shown in this image). The high energy particles are confined to remarkably well collimated jets, and are shot into extragalactic space at speeds approaching the speed of light, where they eventually balloon into massive radio lobes. The overall linear size is of the radio structure is 212 kpc (for a Hubble constant of 100 km/s/Mpc), which can be compared to a typical galaxy diameter of about 30 kpc. The quasar has double lobes with prominent hot spots, and has a narrow jet, but no counter-jet. Its possible that we only see the jet that is pointing toward us, which may be "Doppler boosted" in brightness when the particles emitting the radio radiation are moving toward us at close to the speed of light. The counter-jet would be moving away from us, and would thus not experience Doppler boosting. The jet brightens and bends as it enters its lobe.

This quasar is at a redshift of z=0.768. VLA 4.9 GHz image at 0.35 arcsec resolution.

Legacy Astronomical Images

NRAO/AUI/NSF does not hold full copyright for this image. Contact the archivist for details.

Legacy Astronomical Image

3C175

Alan Bridle, David Hough, Colin Lonsdale, Jack Burns, Robert Laing

Very Large Array (VLA)

1986-03-29

continuum

C

6 cm

5.0 GHz

RA 7:13:2.400, Dec: 11:46:14.600

0.020000 x 0.010000 degrees

Active Galactic Nuclei Series

Quasars Unit