HUBBLE ATLAS
Superluminal Motion Relativistic Jet — image from the Hubble Space Telescope

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Superluminal Motion Relativistic Jet

October 12, 2022 · NASA

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This is an artist's impression of two neutron stars colliding. The smashup between two dense stellar remnants unleashes the energy of 1,000 standard stellar nova explosions. In the aftermath of the collision a blowtorch jet of radiation is ejected at nearly the speed of light. The jet is directed along a narrow beam confined by powerful magnetic fields. The roaring jet plowed into and swept up material in the surrounding interstellar medium.