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This composite image of the radio galaxy 3C321 shows the jet from a black hole at the center of the larger galaxy, to the lower left, striking the edge of a companion galaxy to the upper right, the first time such an interaction has been found. The image includes X-ray data from Chandra (colored purple), optical and ultraviolet (UV) data from the Hubble Space Telescope (red and orange), and radio emission from the Very Large Array (VLA) and MERLIN (blue).
A bright, blue spot in the VLA and MERLIN radio image shows where the jet has struck the side of the galaxy and dissipates some energy. The jet is disrupted and deflected by this impact with the companion galaxy.Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/D.Evans et al.; Optical/UV: NASA/STScI; Radio: NSF/VLA/CfA/D.Evans et al., STFC/JBO/MERLIN
