The hidden engine of NGC 4945

Portrayed in this image is the spiral galaxy NGC 4945, a close neighbour of the Milky Way. Belonging to the Centaurus A group of galaxies, it is located at a distance of almost 13 million light-years. Showing a remarkable resemblance to our own galaxy, NGC 4945 also hides a supermassive black hole behind the thick, ring-shaped structure of dust visible in the picture. But, unlike the black hole at the centre of our Milky Way, the million-solar-mass black hole inside NGC 4945 is an Active Galactic Nucleus that is frantically consuming any surrounding matter, and so releasing tremendous amounts of energy.

This image combines observations performed through three different filters (B, V, R) with the 1.5-metre Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Crédit:

ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R. Gendler and C. Thöne

À propos de l'image

Identification:potw1007a
Type:Observation
Date de publication:15 février 2010 11:21
Taille:2970 x 1800 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:NGC 4945
Type:Local Universe : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole
Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral
Distance:13 million années lumière
Constellation:Centaurus
Catégorie:Galaxies

Formats des images

Grand JPEG
1,2 Mio
JPEG taille écran
170,0 Kio

Zoomable


Fonds d'écran

1024x768
231,9 Kio
1280x1024
356,2 Kio
1600x1200
499,4 Kio
1920x1200
591,0 Kio
2048x1536
790,8 Kio

Coordinates

Position (RA):13 5 24.66
Position (Dec):-49° 28' 0.35"
Field of view:19.54 x 11.84 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 45.0° right of vertical

Couleurs & filtres

DomaineTélescope
Visible
B
Danish 1.54-metre telescope
Visible
V
Danish 1.54-metre telescope
Visible
R
Danish 1.54-metre telescope