Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: Only 11 million light-years away, Centaurus A is the closest active galaxy to planet Earth. Spanning over 60,000 light-years, the peculiar elliptical galaxy, also known as NGC 5128, is featured in this sharp color image. Centaurus A is apparently the result of a collision of two otherwise normal galaxies resulting in a fantastic jumble of star clusters and imposing dark dust lanes. Near the galaxy's center, left over cosmic debris is steadily being consumed by a central black hole with a billion times the mass of the Sun. As in other active galaxies, that process likely generates the radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy radiated by Centaurus A.

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
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Publications with keywords: active galaxy - Centaurus A - NGC 5128
Publications with words: active galaxy - Centaurus A - NGC 5128
See also:

• Hubble Remix: Active Galaxy NGC 1275
• Fermi s Gamma Ray Sky
• NGC 4945 in Centaurus
• Active Galaxy NGC 1275
• Active Galaxy Centaurus A
• The Center of Centaurus A
• Jumbled Galaxy Centaurus A

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