Chandra Release - May 21, 2003

Visual Description: 4C41.17

 Two images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory showcase the massive young galaxies called 4C41.17 (on the left side) and 3C294 (on the right side). The dominant colors of the image are blue and white on a background of solid black. The key structures are the textured blue and white areas forming a slim but blobby jet on the left, and a chunkier, blobbier image with a less perceptible jet-like feature cutting through the center on the right. Chandra's images of these two distant massive galaxies show that they are enveloped by vast clouds of high-energy particles that are evidence for past explosive activity. In both galaxies, radio and X-ray jets allow this activity to be traced back to central supermassive black holes. The jets are heating gas outside the galaxies in regions hundreds of thousands of light years across.