A Disturbance in the Force in Centaurus A

By Nancy Atkinson - January 28, 2009 at 10:36 AM UTC | Extragalactic
centaurus-a.jpg

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There are some interesting dynamics going on with

Centaurus

A, an elliptical galaxy about 13 million light-years away. This is a very active and luminous region of space and a great disturbance is going on as another spiral galaxy is trying to get in on the action by merging with

Centaurus A

. But astronomers now have new insight on what causing all the ruckus: a supermassive black hole at the core of Centaurus A. Jets and lobes emanating from the central black hole have been imaged at submillimeter wavelengths for the first time by using the 12-meter Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope in Chile. By using a combination of visible and X-ray wavelengths, astronomers were able to produce this striking new image. Help me APEX, you are our only hope!

Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is one of our closest galactic neighbors, and is located in the southern constellation of Centaurus. The supermassive black hole is the source of the force: strong radio and X-ray emissions. Visible in the image is a dust ring encircling the giant galaxy, and the fast-moving radio jets ejected from the galaxy center. In submillimeter light, the heat glow from the central dust disc can be seen and also the emission from the central radio source.

APEX was also able to discern – for the first time in the submillimeter – the inner radio lobes north and south of the disc. Measurements of this emission, which occurs when fast-moving electrons spiral around the lines of a magnetic field, reveal that the material in the jet is travelling at approximately half the speed of light. In the X-ray emission, we see the jets emerging from the centre of Centaurus A and, to the lower right of the galaxy, the glow where the expanding lobe collides with the surrounding gas, creating a shockwave.

Related paper.

Source:

ESO

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com