This is a giant elliptical galaxy that is classified as a low-luminosityFanaroff and Riley class 1 radio galaxy. Maps of the radio structure suggested that the emission is being shaped by the motion of the galaxy through an ambient medium.[12] A strong jet and counter-jet extend about 330 thousand light-years (100 kpc) from the nucleus.[13][14] These jets have been observed in radio,[15] infrared,[16] optical,[12] ultraviolet,[17] and X-raybands.[18]Gamma ray emission has been detected coming from the direction of this galaxy, which were most likely emitted from the core region.[19]
Observations with theHubble Space Telescope in 1990 showed that the jet has a filamentary, double-stranded structure.[12][20] When viewed in the optical, the northern jet shows four knots along its length, all of which are polarized, thus indicating asynchrotron basis.[21]
Very-long-baseline interferometry measurements of the galaxy's radio-emitting core demonstratedelliptical motion with a period of1.05±0.03 years. This strongly suggested that asupermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) was located at the center of 3C 66B.[22] This motion was expected to emitgravitational waves that would cause fluctuations in the pulse arrival times from the pulsar PSR B1855+09. However, no such signature was found.[23] Numerical simulations indicated this detection method may only be valid for anorbital eccentricity below 0.03.[24]
Messier 87 (M87), about 55 million light-years away, is the largest giant elliptical galaxy near the Earth, and also contains anactive galactic nucleus. The smoothjet of 3C 66B rivals that of M87.[25]
^Trussoni, E.; et al. (2001). "X-ray observations of 3C 66B and 3C 346".Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana.72:111–113.Bibcode:2001MmSAI..72..111T.
^Sparks, W. B.; et al. (May 1992).High resolution observation of 3C 66B. Testing the AGN Paradigm. AIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 254. pp. 415–418.Bibcode:1992AIPC..254..415S.doi:10.1063/1.42261.
