High Dynamic Range VLBI Observations of the 3C120 Radio Jet

Extract

3C 120 is a nearby radio galaxy (z = 0.033) that shows superluminal motions in its radio jet within one parsec of the nucleus. The apparent velocities of the moving features are approximately 1.5 mas/yr. This object is of particular interest because it is clearly identified with an N-type galaxy, unlike all other superluminal radio sources which are only seen in quasars and BL Lac objects. Because of the close proximity of 3C 120, we have been able to make a series of VLBI and VLA images at stepped resolutions, and thereby map the radio jet continuously from the radio nucleus (0.5 h⁻¹ parsec) into the diffuse 400 h⁻¹ kpc structure.