Death Star (galaxy) discovered by NASA [Updated]
NASA has coined galaxy 3C321 the "Death Star," so named because the black hole at its center is sending a huge jet of energy at another galaxy close by, punching into the fabric of that neighbouring galaxy:
"We've seen many jets produced by black holes, but this is the first time we've seen one punch into another galaxy like we're seeing here," said Dan Evans, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the leader of the study. "This jet could be causing all sorts of problems for the smaller galaxy it is pummeling."
Being targeted by a jet of high energy particles emitting gamma and X-ray radiation might suck for a galaxy, but it's been suggested that the injection of energy and mass into the smaller galaxy might eventually encourage the formation of new planets and star systems in the target galaxy. A galactic Phoenix effect, if you will.
Update: One of my friends asked me how a jet of radiation could be escaping a black hole and slamming into another galaxy beside it, so I replied with the following mini Astrophysics lesson I thought ya'll might find interesting, in case you have the same question:
Only when you cross the event horizon near the black hole can energy or matter not escape from it. Since black holes are massive gravitational sinkholes, they pull everything around them towards them. This causes massive amounts of matter to be compressed near the black hole, some of this matter reacts because of the presence of other trapped matter and the tremendous compression that goes on and therefore creates massive amounts of radiation.
All this happens both inside and outside the event horizon. The radiation produced outside the event horizon, given enough energy, can escape the gravitational anomaly of the black hole and travel away from it.
An organised jet stream of radiation is a result of the organisation and rotation of the matter caused by the gravitational anomaly surrounding the black hole. It's like a shaped funnel in space.
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what im still not understanding is how is a black hole sending out a jet of energy? its a freaking black hole!
Oh dear, I have to give you a lesson in Astrophysics, now don't I?
Only when you cross the event horizon near the black hole can energy or matter not escape from it. Since black holes are massive gravitational sinkholes, they pull everything around them towards them. This causes massive amounts of matter to be compressed near the black hole, some of this matter reacts because of the presence of other trapped matter and the tremendous compression that goes on and therefore creates massive amounts of radiation.
All this happens both inside and outside the event horizon. The radiation produced outside the event horizon, given enough energy, can escape the gravitational anomaly of the black hole and travel away from it.
An organised jet stream of radiation is a result of the organisation and rotation of the matter caused by the gravitational anomaly surrounding the black hole. It's like a shaped funnel in space.
I feel perhaps that should be a post, or at least added to the above one =)
ok. so its from matter and energy located outside the event horizon. that makes more sense (y this didnt occur to me in the first place i dont know).