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.
Herkunftsnachweis:ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R. Gendler and C. Thöne
Über das Bild
ID: | potw1007a |
Typ: | Beobachtung |
Veröffentlichungsdatum: | 15. Februar 2010 11:21 |
Größe: | 2970 x 1800 px |
Über das Objekt
Name: | NGC 4945 |
Typ: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
Entfernung: | 13 Million Lichtjahre |
Constellation: | Centaurus |
Kategorie: | Galaxies |
Bildschirm-Hintergrundbilder
Koordinaten
Position (RA): | 13 5 24.66 |
Position (Dec): | -49° 28' 0.35" |
Field of view: | 19.54 x 11.84 arcminutes |
Orientierung: | Die Nordrichtung liegt 45.0° rechts zur Vertikale |
Farben & Filter
Spektralbereich | Teleskop |
---|---|
Optisch B | Danish 1.54-metre telescope |
Optisch V | Danish 1.54-metre telescope |
Optisch R | Danish 1.54-metre telescope |