Mystery Photo

What in the world is it?

Don’t peek at the answer until you’ve given this a good try! Then, scroll down a bit and the truth will be revealed to you. What In the World Is It? This month’s mystery photo is the first-ever glimpse of the mysterious region near a black hole at the heart of a distant galaxy. The image, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a powerful beam spewing out at nearly the speed of light. The beam can be seen here going nearly straight for thousands of light-years. The beam formed within a few tenths of a light-year of the galaxy’s core, where astronomers believe lurks a black hole – one three billion times more massive than the Sun! The beam is seen opening widely, at an angle of about 60 degrees, but is squeezed down to only 6 degrees a few light-years away from the black hole. Credit: (NASA) Back