In the photograph of X-ray jets and point sources in the galaxy Centaurus A, shown in “Shocks jolt jet set galaxy, X rays reveal,” many of the point sources seem to be regularly spaced along arcs. The pattern is reminiscent of an X-ray diffraction pattern from a crystal (a microscopic event mirrored here on a cosmic scale!). This could be an optical illusion–or perhaps the result of some physical phenomenon such as spherical shock waves colliding or cosmic strings. Barton M. Bresnick
Mansfield, Mass.

From the Nature Index

Paid Content