Gas blasts from black holes show surprising alignment

Pattern, if real, suggests clues to structure formation in early universe

Hercules A galaxy

GALACTIC GEYSERS  Galactic fountains of gas, such as those erupting from nearby galaxy Hercules A, appear to be aligned among a dozen remote galaxies, a new study suggests. This image is a composite from the Very Large Array radio observatory (pink) and the Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA, ESA, S. Baum and C. O'Dea/RIT, R. Perley and W. Cotton/NRAO/AUI/NSF, the Hubble Heritage Team/STScI/AURA

Fountains of gas from a handful of remote galaxies all seem to be pointing in roughly the same direction, a new study reports.