by iamlucky13 » Thu Aug 10, 2006 9:13 pm
I'm not sure I understand since the whole structure appears somewhat comet-like. I suppose perhaps you are referring to a smaller white streak aligned about 30 degrees from horizontal just below the middle of the frame?
My first thought was an x-ray jet from a black hole, but in retrospect I think an x-ray jet would have to be pointed roughly at us to be directly detected. However, it may also be an x-ray jet interacting with interstellar gas. Since it appears to be nearly white, it is presumably a mix of high, medium, and low energy x-rays (shown in blue, green, and red). Perhaps it is a star cluster shadowed by closer features in the galactic core, or perhaps it's a more distant x-ray source that has been gravitationally lensed.
I'm not sure I understand since the whole structure appears somewhat comet-like. I suppose perhaps you are referring to a smaller white streak aligned about 30 degrees from horizontal just below the middle of the frame?
My first thought was an x-ray jet from a black hole, but in retrospect I think an x-ray jet would have to be pointed roughly at us to be directly detected. However, it may also be an x-ray jet interacting with interstellar gas. Since it appears to be nearly white, it is presumably a mix of high, medium, and low energy x-rays (shown in blue, green, and red). Perhaps it is a star cluster shadowed by closer features in the galactic core, or perhaps it's a more distant x-ray source that has been gravitationally lensed.