Relativistic jet of the famous quasar 3C273, shown in a multiwavelength composite comprising radio (VLA), infrared (Spitzer), optical (HST), and X-ray (Chandra) wavelengths, obtained with the NSF's radio telescope and NASA's Great Observatories. The spectral and spatial distribution of the emission tells us about the radidation mechanism and puts limits on the total jet energy, which may well be the dominant channel for releasing energy from accretion onto the supermassive black hole at the center of 3C273.

© Meg Urry