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).

Crédit:

ESO

À propos de l'image

Identification:phot-13-04
Type:Observation
Date de publication:3 décembre 2009 23:19
Taille:1703 x 547 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:Messier 77
Type:Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN
Distance:35 million années lumière
Catégorie:Galaxies
Quasars and Black Holes

Image Formats

Grand JPEG
238,5 Kio

Fonds d'écran

1024x768
91,6 Kio
1280x1024
108,4 Kio
1600x1200
155,7 Kio
1920x1200
226,2 Kio
2048x1536
216,0 Kio

Couleurs & filtres

DomaineLongueur d'ondeTélescope
VisibleHubble Space Telescope
Visible
Oii
Hubble Space Telescope
Infrarouge
Near-IR
8.7 μmVery Large Telescope
MIDI
Visible
Hii
Hubble Space Telescope