Cygnus A (3C 405)

Cygnus A (3C 405)
Radio image produced from observations made at the Very Large Array. Most of the radio emissions from Cygnus A come from the radio lobes located on either side of
the peculiar galaxy seen in the inset, a Hubble Space Telescope image. Each of the two radio lobes extend about 160,000 ly from the optical galaxy and contain a
brilliant, condensed region of radio emission. (Inset) At the heart of this system of gas lies a strange-looking galaxy that has a redshift that corresponds to a
recessional speed of 5% of the speed of light. According to the Hubble law, Cygnus A is therefore 635 million ly from Earth. Because Cygnus A is one of the
brightest radio sources in the sky, this remote galaxy’s energy output must be enormous.