宇宙风暴中的茶杯座星系

想喝杯宇宙茶吗？这一次不像地球上的那样平静，在一个拥有绰号为“茶杯”结构的星系中，一场星系风暴正在肆虐。

宇宙风暴来源是一个深埋在星系中心的超大质量黑洞，官方名称为SDSS 1430+1339。当星系中心区域的物质被拉向黑洞时被黑洞附近的强引力和磁场所激发。正在下落的物质产生辐射比宿主星系中的所有恒星都要多，这被称为类星体。

茶杯座所在的星系距离地球约11亿光年，2007年市民科学家利用斯隆数字天空调查(Sloan Digital Sky Survey)数据：在Galaxy Zoo项目的可见光图像中首次发现了茶杯座星系。

Fancy a cup of cosmic tea? This one isn’t as calming as the ones on Earth. In a galaxy hosting a structure nicknamed the “Teacup,” a galactic storm is raging.

The source of the cosmic squall is a supermassive black hole buried at the center of the galaxy, officially known as SDSS 1430+1339. As matter in the central regions of the galaxy is pulled toward the black hole, it is energized by the strong gravity and magnetic fields near the black hole. The infalling material produces more radiation than all the stars in the host galaxy. This kind of actively growing black hole is known as a quasar.

Located about 1.1 billion light years from Earth, the Teacup’s host galaxy was originally discovered in visible light images by citizen scientists in 2007 as part of the Galaxy Zoo project, using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Cambridge/G. Lansbury et al; Optical: NASA/STScI/W. Keel et al.