Astrophysical jet

An astrophysical jet is an astronomical phenomenon where outflows of ionised matter are emitted as extended beams along the axis of rotation.

The formation and powering of astrophysical jets are highly complex phenomena that are associated with many types of high-energy astronomical sources.

They likely arise from dynamic interactions within accretion disks, whose active processes are commonly connected with compact central objects such as black holes, neutron stars or pulsars.

One explanation is that tangled magnetic fields are organised to aim two diametrically opposing beams away from the central source by angles only several degrees wide (c. > 1%).

[2] Other astronomical objects that contain jets include cataclysmic variable stars, X-ray binaries and gamma-ray bursts (GRB).

The starburst galaxy Centaurus A , with its plasma jets extending over a million light years , is considered as the closest active radio galaxy to Earth . The 870-micron submillimetre data, from LABOCA on APEX, are shown in orange. X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory are shown in blue . Visible light data from the Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the MPG/ESO 2.2 m telescope located at La Silla, Chile , show the background stars and the galaxy's characteristic dust lane in close to "true colour".
Elliptical galaxy M87 emitting a relativistic jet, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope
The pulsar IGR J11014-6103 with supernova remnant origin, nebula and jet