In the Center of Spiral M77
Explanation:
What is happening in the center of nearby spiral galaxy M77? To find out, astronomers
used the
Hubble Space Telescope to peer deep into the
dusty chaos of this
active galactic nucleus
in 1994.
They found a network
of filamentary gas and opaque dust that provides only clues as to what central monster
had left this mess. Due to the presence of hot ionized gas clouds near the core,
changes in brightness that can take less than a week, and the
ultraviolet halo surrounding the whole galaxy, the leading
hypothesis is that a supermassive
black hole
lies at the center of this
Seyfert
Type 2 galaxy. Also known as
NGC 1068, this
galaxy lies only about 50 million light years distant and is visible with only a
small telescope.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
