326-quasar-b-dixon – This astronomical illustration depicts a powerful quasar operating at the core of a massive spiral galaxy that is undergoing a dynamic gravitational interaction or merger with a smaller companion galaxy. A brilliant, highly concentrated accretion disk surrounds the central supermassive black hole, fueling a pair of intense, bidirectional relativistic jets that blast perpendicularly out of the galactic plane. The tidal forces of the galactic collision pull streams of interstellar gas and stars between the two systems, feeding the active galactic nucleus (AGN) and triggering widespread star formation across the blue spiral arms. acrylic and gouache painting for the June, 1998 Scientific American cover by Don Dixon
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