- Source: PKS 0637-752
PKS 0637-752 is a quasar located six billion light years in the constellation of Mensa. It is noted for having a bright and largest astrophysical jet at redshift of z = 0.651. Discovered by Einstein Observatory in 1980 through X-rays, PKS 0637-752 was the first celestial object to be observed by Chandra X-ray Observatory upon its commissioning in July 23, 1999.
Characteristics
PKS 0637-752 contains an active galactic nucleus. It is classified a blazar, a type of an active galaxy with a relativistic jet pointing towards Earth's direction. Like other quasars, PKS 0637-752 is considered luminous, powering up 10 trillion times the sun, with a supermassive black hole in its center.
= X-ray jet
=PKS 0637-752 contains a high γ-ray flux X-ray jet studied by Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer. The jet extends ≥100 kiloparsecs wide and has a luminosity of ~1044.6 ergs-1. It produces X-ray emission through inverse Compton scattering from the cosmic microwave background.
Further observations from Hubble also found three small knots occurring concurrently with the X-ray emission and peak radio. According to observations made by Australia Telescope Compact Array, these knots are shown to be quasi-periodic with a separation gap of ~1.1 arcsecs. Using two class models, astronomers calculated the jet power of PKS 0637-752 to be Q ~ 1046 erg/s and the jet engine modulation to be 2 x 103 yr < \tau < 3x 105 yr. Such evidence, proves the jet structure in the quasar might result from an unstable accretion disk, causing limit cycle behavior.
References
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- PKS 0637-752
- Shock diamond
- Mensa (constellation)
- List of quasars
- Parkes Catalogue of Radio Sources
- Xi Mensae
- Mu Mensae
- Eta Mensae
- Beta Mensae
- Zeta Mensae
