The innermost region of the active galaxy NGC 1068

New insight into the central region of the active galaxy NGC 1068, at increasing magnification. Image a (left) is a colour composite of NGC 1068, obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST); showing stellar light in blue, oxygen ionized by the active nucleus in yellow, and inonized hydrogen in red. Image b (middle) is a VLTI image by MIDI at wavelength 8.7 µm, penetrating the dust cloud and showing the central structures in great detail. Image c (right) is a sketch of the dust structure of the innermost region. It contains a central hot component (at least 500°C; yellow), marginally resolved by the VLTI observations in the North-South direction (i.e. in the vertical direction in this image). It is surrounded by a larger warm component (~50°, red) that is well resolved. The arrows at the upper left indicate the directions of the two VLTI baselines and the corresponding resolution (image sharpness) at the central observed wavelength (10.5 µm).

Herkunftsnachweis:

ESO

Über das Bild

ID:phot-13-04
Typ:Beobachtung
Veröffentlichungsdatum:3. Dezember 2009 23:19
Größe:1703 x 547 px

Über das Objekt

Name:Messier 77
Typ:Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN
Entfernung:35 Million Lichtjahre
Kategorie:Galaxies
Quasars and Black Holes

Bildformate

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Farben & Filter

SpektralbereichWellenlängeTeleskop
OptischHubble Space Telescope
Optisch
Oii
Hubble Space Telescope
Infrarot
Near-IR
8.7 μmVery Large Telescope
MIDI
Optisch
Hii
Hubble Space Telescope