The centre of the active galaxy NGC 1097

Colour-composite image of the central 5,500 light-years wide region of the spiral galaxy NGC 1097, obtained with the NACO adaptive optics on the VLT. More than 300 star forming regions - white spots in the image - are distributed along a ring of dust and gas in the image. At the centre of the ring there is a bright central source where the active galactic nucleus and its super-massive black hole are located. The image was constructed by stacking J- (blue), H- (green), and Ks-band (red) images. North is up and East is to the left. The field of view is 24 x 29 arcsec2, i.e. less than 0.03% the size of the full moon!

Credit:

ESO/Prieto et al.

About the Image

Id:eso0534a
Type:Observation
Release date:17 October 2005
Related releases:eso0534
Size:1467 x 1695 px

About the Object

Name:NGC 1097
Type:Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral
Distance:45 million light years
Constellation:Fornax
Category:Galaxies

Image Formats

Large JPEG
962.0 KB
Screensize JPEG
365.9 KB

Wallpapers

1024x768
341.4 KB
1280x1024
563.5 KB
1600x1200
776.0 KB
1920x1200
838.3 KB
2048x1536
1.1 MB

Coordinates

Position (RA):2 46 18.90
Position (Dec):-30° 16' 26.80"
Field of view:0.41 x 0.48 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.5° right of vertical

Colours & filters

BandTelescope
Infrared
J
Very Large Telescope
NACO
Infrared
H
Very Large Telescope
NACO
Infrared
K
Very Large Telescope
NACO