An extreme particle accelerator millions of light-years away is directing immensely fast electromagnetic waves at Earth.
But looks can be deceiving, especially in space. Markarian 501 is a launchpad for charged particles traveling near the speed of light. From the galaxy’s heart erupts a bright jet of high-energy particles and radiation, rushing right in Earth’s direction. That makes it a perfect natural laboratory to study those accelerating particles—if only scientists could understand what causes them.
But what actually causes a supermassive black hole to form light and other electromagnetic waves? What happens inside that jet? If you were surfing inside of it, what exactly would you feel and see?
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