section_path: Variants/Radio galaxy
section_name: Radio galaxy
paragraph_text: Radio galaxy
  
  A radio galaxy is a galaxy with giant regions of radio emission extending well beyond its visible structure. These energetic radio lobes are powered by jets from its active galactic nucleus. Radio galaxies are classified according to their Fanaroff–Riley classification. The FR I class have lower radio luminosity and exhibit structures which are more elongated; the FR II class are higher radio luminosity. The correlation of radio luminosity and structure suggests that the sources in these two types of galaxies may differ.
  
  Radio galaxies can also be classified as giant radio galaxies (GRGs), whose radio emissions can extend to scales of megaparsecs (3.26 million light-years). Alcyoneus is an FR II class low-excitation radio galaxy which has the largest observed radio emission, with lobed structures spanning 5 megaparsecs (16×10 ly). For comparison, another similarly sized giant radio galaxy is 3C 236, with lobes 15 million light-years across. It should however be noted that radio emissions are not always considered part of the main galaxy itself.
  
  A giant radio galaxy is a special class of objects characterized by the presence of radio lobes generated by relativistic jets powered by the central galaxy's supermassive black hole. Giant radio galaxies are different from ordinary radio galaxies in that they can extend to much larger scales, reaching upwards to several megaparsecs across, far larger than the diameters of their host galaxies.
  
  A "normal" radio galaxy do not have a source that is a supermassive black hole or monster neutron star; instead the source is synchrotron radiation from relativistic electrons accelerated by supernova. These sources are comparatively short lived, making the radio spectrum from normal radio galaxies an especially good way to study star formation.