Orbital dynamics of the radio galaxy 3C 129.
Abstract
The radio galaxy 3C 129 possesses a long radio tail which is shaped in the first approximation like a segment of an ellipse. This segment is used to reconstruct the whole orbit of 3C 129 around a nearby supergiant galaxy, and the complete set of orbital parameters is calculated under two interpretations of the tail. The period of the orbit is about 3.6 billion years, and as such it is by far the longest known binary period. Possible perturbations by the nearby radio galaxy 3C 129.1 and the effects of buoyancy on the shape of the tail are discussed. The dynamical ages are compared with the properties of radiating electron populations in the tail.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- April 1978
- DOI:
- 10.1086/156049
- Bibcode:
- 1978ApJ...221..481B
- Keywords:
-
- Astronomical Models;
- Galactic Radiation;
- Orbit Calculation;
- Radio Galaxies;
- Buoyancy;
- Ellipses;
- Gravitational Effects;
- Orbital Elements;
- Astronomy;
- Orbits:Radio Galaxies;
- Radio Galaxies: Structure