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Astronomy cast episode 635 Astronomical Jets

Welcome to Astronomy cast for weekly facts based journey through the cosmos where we help you understand not only what we know but how we know what we know.

I'm Fraser Kane, publisher of University with me as always is Dr. Pamela Gay, a senior scientist for the planetary sciences institute and the director of CosmicRust.

Hey Pamela, how are you doing?

I am doing well. How are you doing?

It's also well dealing with the trials and tribulations of getting our house completed. We're in the final stretch now and it's all the little details that need to be done perfectly.

Each one can hold up the thing and yeah, but we're getting there.

As astronomers look out across the universe, they see various objects spewing jets of material light years into space. What causes these jets? And what impact do they have on the universe?

Alright, jets. Now we're not talking about like aircraft jets.

No.

We're talking about space jets.

Yes.

But they're not aircraft jets in space.

No.

No. What is a jet?

So at the most simplistic level, a jet is anytime you have something that sends out materials at high velocities.

So when we call an airplane a jet, what we're actually referring to is its engines that are spewing material out at high velocities instead of just having a propeller at the front.

And throwing an airplane in the opposite direction. Exactly. Exactly.

Now in astrophysical situations, we are talking about situations where you have some sort of an object that has an entire environment around it that is leading up to it sitting at the center of normally bipolar going out in two different direction.

And jets that have been built up most typically by a magnetic field.

So like I guess think of a fountain.

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