Chandra Release - December 17, 2007

Visual Description: 3C321

This image of 3C321 features a galaxy with bright pink, orange, blue and purple colors in the center of the frame. The galaxy appears to be shaped like an elongated, stretched out coil. This composite image of 3C321 shows the jet from a black hole at the center of the galaxy striking the edge of another galaxy, the first time such an interaction has been found. In the image, data from several wavelengths have been combined. X-rays from Chandra (which are colored purple), optical and ultraviolet data from Hubble (in red and orange), and radio emission from the Very Large Array (VLA) and MERLIN (in blue) show how the jet from a main galaxy on the lower left is striking its companion galaxy to its upper right. The jet impacts the companion galaxy at its edge and is then disrupted and deflected, much like how a stream of water from a hose will splay out after hitting a wall at an angle.