Jet in M87 spied by the VLT

A jet of material shoots out of M87, a giant elliptical galaxy about 50 million light years away in the Virgo Cluster. The powerful jet shines in the energetic blue and ultraviolet range, while old, cool stars in the galaxy proper emit less energetic reddish light. A supermassive black hole at M87's centre is the likely culprit for generating the plume that extends some 5,000 light years from the galactic nucleus.