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Yes, suzy, you did ask me a hard question.....
NGC 5128 is one of the most complex objects known, though part of this complexity is simply due to the fact that it is nearby [about 12.4 (+/- 0.32) million light years according to the latest work] and has therefore had more study than more distant objects.
A lot of other objects would probably reveal a similar complexity if they were studied in greater detail.
The questions surrounding the role of the jet in causing the formation of the blue knots seen in the field of NGC 5128 are not answered as yet, as you have correctly stated!
GALEX imagery is very new, and a lot of the GALEX images have not been looked at in any detail, so it is not surprising that professional astronomers are still trying to understand what it all means. In astronomy today, we are extremely rich (and getting ever richer) in imaging data, but there are actually very few people thinking about this imaging data compared to the truckloads of images constantly coming in.
cheers,
madbadgalaxyman
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