Superluminal Quasar Jets : The Beaming "Explanation" Appears Inadequate

N:dlzc D:aol T:com (dlzc) wrote:
Dear Chris O'Riordan:

"Chris O'Riordan" wrote in message
oups.com...
The conventional explanantion for the superluminal motions observed
in
many quasar-type jets is that it is an optical illusion due to the
jets
being oriented at a fairly narrow angle to our line of sight.
...

If the jets are truly superlumenal, how is it that we can see light
from
them? Since we *do* see light from them, and their spectra are
"reasonable", the rest is "tricks of geometry". If they were
superlumenal,
the light could never leave...

David A. Smith

I had in mind a VSL (variable light speed) possible explanation, where
the jet knots would not exceed the *local* value of c. The latter
would need to be ~3 X 10^9 m/s at least in the case of quasar 3C273,
for example.

This is just a speculation, of course. I don't know why c would
increase significantly outward along the axis of a (rotating,
supermassive) black hole. Something to do with twizzled-up spacetime,
mayhap?!