Active Galaxies and the Unified Model

chickensagan

Dear all,

I'm a first year undergraduate student and I've been set an essay on the title of the post. I would be very grateful if someone could explain in layman's terms what these things are, and also if someone could tell me where I can find more information on them, preferably in an easy-to-read format.

Thanks in advance

Drakkith

Well, what do you already know about them? Have you searched google/wikipedia for them yet?

chickensagan

Sorry I should have said.

I've done some googling and looked at a few websites and books. My understanding so far is that they are galaxies which are emitting abnormal amounts of electromagnetic radiation, which some astrophysicists think is caused by a black hole at the centre of said galaxies consuming the matter surrounding it and releasing the energy in the form of jets.

I don't understand how the jets form however.

Also, I've never written a real scientific essay before so if anyone has tips that'd be great.

For those that know how to write them: how does quoting other people's research work?
Do I need to put in the citation number e.g. blah blah blah [2], after every bit of research that I reference? Or do I just put it in once, even if I refer back to the same reference later on in the essay?

Apologies if what I wrote is a little confusing, I don't know how to word it properly.

Drakkith

The details of how to write your essay should be taught by your teacher, or so I would think. I would ask them how they want it written.

As for the jets, try this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativistic_jet

Chronos

Quoting other peoples work in your own paper works much the same as citing court cases in a legal brief, if that helps.