Pictor A

Pictor A
Image from Chandra X-ray Observatory showing a jet of plasma emanating from Pictor A
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationPictor
Right ascension05h 19m 49.721s[1]
Declination−45° 46′ 43.85″[1]
Redshift0.03498 ± 0.00005[2]
Heliocentric radial velocity10487 ± 15 km/s
Apparent magnitude (V)15.77[3]
Apparent magnitude (B)16.64[3]
Absolute magnitude (V)19.2[3]
Characteristics
TypeS00[4]
Other designations
Pic A, PKS 0518-45, 2CXO J051949.7-454643
Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox galaxy with unknown parameter "image_size"

Pictor A, around 485 million light-years away in the constellation Pictor, is a double-lobed broad-line radio galaxy[5] and a powerful source of radio waves in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere.[6] From a supermassive black hole at its centre, a relativistic jet shoots out to an X-ray hot spot 300,000 light-years away.[7]

  1. ^ a b "The Chandra Source Catalog Release 2.0". Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. 24 October 2019.
  2. ^ Eracleous, Michael; Halpern, Jules P. (January 2004). "Accurate redshifts and classifications for 110 radio-loud active galactic nuclei". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 150 (1): 181–186. arXiv:astro-ph/0309498. Bibcode:2004ApJS..150..181E. doi:10.1086/379823.
  3. ^ a b c Véron-Cetty, M.-P.; Véron, P. (2010). "A catalogue of quasars and active nuclei: 13th edition". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 518 (A10): A10. Bibcode:2010A&A...518A..10V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201014188.
  4. ^ Lauberts, A.; Valentijn, E. A. (1989). "The Surface Photometry Catalogue of the ESO-Uppsala Galaxies".
  5. ^ Brown, Anthony M.; Adams, Jenni (April 2012). "Discovery of γ-ray emission from the broad-line radio galaxy Pictor A". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 421 (3): 2303–2309. arXiv:1201.0034. Bibcode:2012MNRAS.421.2303B. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20451.x.
  6. ^ Perley, Richard A.; Röser, Hermann-Josef; Meisenheimer, Klaus (1997). "The Radio Galaxy Pictor A – a Study with the VLA" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 328: 12–32. Bibcode:1997A&A...328...12P.
  7. ^ "Spectacular X-ray Jet Points Toward Cosmic Energy Booster". Exploring the Universe. Chandra X-ray Observatory. 6 June 2000. Retrieved 6 March 2024.