X-ray, Radio, and Optical Images of the Positive Feedback Black Hole
These images contain a black hole that is triggering star formation across the longest distance ever seen. As hot gas swirls around the black hole, it emits large amounts of X-rays that Chandra detects. The black hole is also the source of radio-wave emission from a jet of high-energy particles — previously detected by scientists with the VLA — that stretches about a million light years. Astronomers found that this black hole and jet are responsible for increasing the rates of star formation in newly-discovered nearby galaxies.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/INAF/R. Gilli et al.; Radio NRAO/VLA; Optical: NASA/STScI)