The 94 erupting novae detected in the HST survey were combined with 41 archival HST detections to provide a distribution across M87. An image of the galaxy was divided into ten equal wedges and the number of novae in each was counted (see image, with the cyan and pink histograms indicating the tally in each wedge in the most recent and combined surveys, respectively). Twenty-five novae were found to fall within the bin aligned with the jet, and fewer than 16 novae were found in any other bin. A simulated distribution of novae based on the K-band surface brightness did not deviate from uniformity by more than around 10%.

No statistical differences in the properties of novae aligned or not aligned with the jet were identified, leaving the causal link for the nova enhancement unclear. Shock waves produced by the jet might enhance the accretion rate onto white dwarfs, or the jet might trigger star formation along its path, but the latter explanation does not account for the lack of enhancement seen close to M87’s counterjet. Perhaps a satellite was recently accreted along the direction of the jet, leading to a surplus of stars. Further observations are needed.

在 HST 巡天中检测到的 94 颗喷发新星与 41 个存档的 HST 探测相结合，提供了整个 M87 的分布。星系的图像被分成十个相等的楔形，并计算每个楔形中的新星数量（见图，青色和粉红色直方图分别表示最近和组合调查中每个楔形的计数）。发现 25 颗新星落在与喷流对齐的垃圾箱内，而在任何其他垃圾箱中发现的新星少于 16 颗。基于 K 波段表面亮度的模拟新星分布与均匀性的偏差不超过 10% 左右。

没有发现与喷流对齐或不对齐的新星特性的统计差异，因此新星增强的因果关系尚不清楚。喷流产生的冲击波可能会提高白矮星的吸积率，或者喷流可能会触发沿其路径形成恒星，但后一种解释并没有解释在 M87 的反喷流附近看到的缺乏增强。也许最近有一颗卫星沿着喷流的方向吸积，导致恒星过剩。需要进一步的观察。