1997A&A...324..870M

A new analysis of the ROSAT PSPC data of the giant radio galaxy NGC 6251 is presented. In supplement to the already published results we used a new approach to disclose the X-ray morphology of NGC 6251. We have detected an elliptically shaped X-ray halo out to a radial distance of about 100kpc from the host galaxy. Moreover, we have discovered a close positional and intensity correlation of the radio continuum radiation of the jet with enhanced X-ray emission. Our analysis suggests that the bulk of the X-ray photons originates from a hot (T∼10⁷K) thin plasma, while Inverse-Compton scattering is not important. The X-ray plasma associated with the radio continuum jet is most likely confined by the magnetic lines of forces within the jet.