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Centaurus A: Black Hole Outflows From Centaurus A
Centaurus A
Visual Description:


This image of Centaurus A shows a spectacular new view of a supermassive black hole's power. Jets and lobes powered by the central black hole in this nearby galaxy are shown by submillimeter data (colored orange) from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope in Chile and X-ray data (colored blue) from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Visible light data from the Wide Field Imager on the Max-Planck/ESO 2.2 m telescope, also located in Chile, shows the dust lane in the galaxy and background stars. The X-ray jet in the upper left extends for about 13,000 light years away from the black hole. The APEX data shows that material in the jet is travelling at about half the speed of light.

Visual Description:

The composite image features an active galaxy named Centaurus A. This galaxy is dominated by shades of pale blue and gold with grays on a dark background filled with white points of light. The galaxy's central region appears much brighter than its outer region. Centaurus A is powered by a powerful supermassive black hole. A prominent slightly puffy X-ray jet extending for 13,000 light years points to the upper left in the image, with a shorter, puffier "counterjet" aimed in the opposite direction. The structure of the image overall has a fat, warped baton shape with a large disk of material cutting across the center. The jets of high-energy particles extend to the outer reaches of the galaxy, and numerous smaller black holes in binary star systems are sprinkled around. The image combines submillimeter data (colored gold) from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope and X-ray data (pale blue) from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Visible light data from the Wide Field Imager on the Max-Planck/ESO 2.2 m telescope shows the dust lane in the galaxy and background stars. The X-ray jet in the upper left extends for about 13,000 light years away from the black hole. The APEX data shows that material in the jet is travelling at about half the speed of light.

 

Fast Facts for Centaurus A:
Credit  X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Kraft et al.; Submillimeter: MPIfR/ESO/APEX/A.Weiss et al.; Optical: ESO/WFI
Release Date  January 30, 2009
Scale  Image is 24.3 arcmin across.
Category  Quasars & Active Galaxies
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 13h 25m 27.62s | Dec -43° 01´ 08.80"
Constellation  Centaurus
Observation Date  6 pointings between 03/22/2007 - 05/30/2007
Observation Time  199 hours
Obs. ID  7797, 7798, 7799, 7800, 8489, 8490
Instrument  ACIS
Also Known As Cen A, NGC 5128
Color Code  X-ray (blue), Submillimeter (orange); Optical (white, brown)
Optical
X-ray
Distance Estimate  About 11 million light years
distance arrow
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