Astronomy Picture of the Day

Jumbled Galaxy Centaurus A


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#102189 by @ 01.07.2007 00:00 - nach oben -
Jumbled Galaxy Centaurus A


Explanation:

At the center of
this
sharp skyscape
, Centaurus A seems to be
a fantastic jumble of old yellow stars, young blue star clusters,
and imposing dark dust lanes.

Spanning over 60,000 light-years,
the
peculiar elliptical galaxy
is
apparently the result of a collision of two otherwise
normal galaxies.

The left over cosmic debris is steadily being consumed by a
black
hole
with a billion times the mass of the Sun which lies
at the center of Centaurus A.

It's likely that such
black
hole
central engines generate the
radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy radiated
by Centaurus A and other
active
galaxies
.

For an active galaxy Centaurus A
is close, a mere 10 million
light-years away,
and is well-studied by
earthbound
astronomers
.



Check out:
Venus and Saturn in tonight's evening sky.



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