The jet of M87

[ajtribick]

A question about the powerful jets coming out of the core of M87. What would be the effect on a solar system that happened to drift into the jet? I'd imagine the effects on a habitable planet would not be pleasant for the inhabitants.

[LordFerret]

X-ray emitting loops and rings

Observations made by Chandra X-ray Observatory indicate the presence of loops and rings in the hot X-ray emitting gas that permeate the cluster and surround M87. These loops and rings are generated by pressure waves. The pressure waves are caused by variations in the rate at which material is ejected from the supermassive black hole in jets. The distribution of loops suggests that minor eruptions occur every six million years. One of the rings, caused by a major eruption, is a shock wave 85,000 light-years in diameter around the black hole. Other remarkable features observed include narrow X-ray emitting filaments up to 100,000 light-years long, and a large cavity in the hot gas caused by a major eruption 70 million years ago. The regular eruptions prevent a huge reservoir of gas from cooling and forming stars, implying that M87?€™s evolution may have been seriously affected, preventing it from becoming a large Spiral galaxy. The observations also imply the presence of sound waves: 56 octaves below middle C for the minor eruptions and 58 to 59 below middle C for the major eruptions.[8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_87



Perhaps they would be serenaded while being lethally bombarded?

[Fenerit]

There is need of a good subwoofer, to ear it...

[ajtribick]

Funny, I come up with this fictional scenario, and then we get news of the 3C321 system, where the jet from one galaxy hits its neighbour...

[BobHegwood]

Chaos,

From all the answers we're getting, I'd say that nobody knows...