Credit & Copyright: NASA,
ESA, and the
Hubble Heritage
(STScI/AURA) -
ESA/Hubble Collaboration;
Acknowledgement:
R. O'Connell
(U. Virginia)
Explanation:
A fantastic jumble of young blue star clusters,
gigantic glowing gas clouds, and imposing dark
dust lanes
surrounds the central region of the active galaxy Centaurus A.
This image from the Hubble Space Telescope has been processed to present a
natural color picture
of this cosmic maelstrom.
Infrared images from the Hubble have also shown that hidden
at the center
of this activity are what seem to be disks of matter spiraling into
a black hole
with a billion times the mass of the Sun.
Centaurus A itself is apparently the result of a
collision of two galaxies
and the left over debris is steadily being consumed by the
black hole.
Astronomers believe that such
black hole central engines generate the
radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy radiated by Centaurus A
and other active galaxies.
But for an active galaxy Centaurus A is close,
a mere 10 million
light-years away, and is a relatively convenient laboratory for
exploring these powerful sources of energy.
APOD Graduate Assistantship:
Research the universe - support a leading astronomy web site
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 |
Январь Февраль Март Апрель Май Июнь Июль Август Сентябрь Октябрь Ноябрь Декабрь |
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
|
Публикации с ключевыми словами:
Centaurus A - active galaxy - black hole - Центавр A - активная галактика - черные дыры
Публикации со словами: Centaurus A - active galaxy - black hole - Центавр A - активная галактика - черные дыры | |
См. также:
Все публикации на ту же тему >> | |
