Centaurus A

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Centaurus A
ESO Centaurus A LABOCA.jpg
Centaurus A (NGC 5128)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Centaurus
Right ascension 13h 25m 27.6s[1]
Declination −43° 01′ 09″[1]
Redshift 547 ± 5 km/s[1]
Distance 10–16 Mly (3–5 Mpc)[2][3][4][5][6]
Type S0 pec[1] or Ep[7]
Size (ly) 60,000 ly[8]
Apparent dimensions (V) 25′.7 × 20′.0[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 6.84[9][10]
Notable features Unusual dust lane
Other designations
NGC 5128,[1] Arp 153,[1] PGC 46957,[1] 4U 1322–42,[11] Caldwell 77
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

Centaurus A or NGC 5128 is a prominent galaxy in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop from his home in Parramatta, in New South Wales, Australia. There is considerable debate in the literature regarding the galaxy's fundamental properties such as its Hubble type (lenticular galaxy or a giant elliptical galaxy)[7] and distance (10–16 million light-years).[2][3][4][5][6] NGC 5128 is one of the closest radio galaxies to Earth, so its active galactic nucleus has been extensively studied by professional astronomers.[12] The galaxy is also the fifth brightest in the sky,[12] making it an ideal amateur astronomy target,[13] although the galaxy is only visible from low northern latitudes and the southern hemisphere.

The center of the galaxy contains a supermassive black hole with a mass equivalent to 55 million solar masses,[14] which ejects a relativistic jet that is responsible for emissions in the X-ray and radio wavelengths. By taking radio observations of the jet separated by a decade, astronomers have determined that the inner parts of the jet are moving at about one half of the speed of light. X-rays are produced farther out as the jet collides with surrounding gases resulting in the creation of highly energetic particles. The X-ray jets of Centaurus A are thousands of light-years long, while the radio jets are over a million light-years long.[15]

Like other starburst galaxies, a collision is suspected to be responsible for the intense burst of star formation. Models have suggested that Centaurus A was a large elliptical galaxy which collided and merged with a smaller spiral galaxy.[16]

Morphology

Centaurus A may be described as having a peculiar morphology. As seen from Earth, the galaxy looks like a lenticular or elliptical galaxy with a superimposed dust lane.[17] The peculiarity of this galaxy was first identified in 1847 by John Herschel, and the galaxy was included in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies (published in 1966) as one of the best examples of a "disturbed" galaxy with dust absorption.[18] The galaxy's strange morphology is generally recognized as the result of a merger between two smaller galaxies.[19]

The bulge of this galaxy is composed mainly of evolved red stars.[17] The dusty disk, however, has been the site of more recent star formation;[12] over 100 star formation regions have been identified in the disk.[20]

Overview of the radio structure of Centaurus A

Supernova

One supernova has been detected in Centaurus A.[21] The supernova, named SN 1986G, was discovered within the dark dust lane of the galaxy by R. Evans in 1986.[22] It was later identified as a type Ia supernova,[23] which forms when a white dwarf's mass grows large enough to ignite carbon fusion in its center, touching off a runaway thermonuclear reaction, as may happen when a white dwarf in a binary star system strips gas away from the other star. SN 1986G was used to demonstrate that the spectra of type Ia supernovae are not all identical, and that type Ia supernovae may differ in the way that they change in brightness over time.[23]

Distance

Distance estimates to NGC 5128 established since the 1980s typically range between 3–5 Mpc.[2][3][4][5][6][24] Classical Cepheids discovered in the heavily-obscured dust lane of NGC 5128 yield a distance between ~3–3.5 Mpc, depending on the nature of the extinction law adopted and other considerations.[4][5] Mira variables[24] and Type II Cepheids[4][5] were also discovered in NGC 5128, the latter being rarely detected beyond the Local Group.[25] The distance to NGC 5128 established from several indicators such as Mira variables and planetary nebulae favour a more distant value of ~3.8 Mpc.[7][6]

Nearby galaxies and galaxy group information

Centaurus A is at the center of one of two subgroups within the Centaurus A/M83 Group, a nearby group of galaxies.[26] Messier 83 (the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) is at the center of the other subgroup. These two groups are sometimes identified as one group[27][28] and sometimes identified as two groups.[29] However, the galaxies around Centaurus A and the galaxies around M83 are physically close to each other, and both subgroups appear not to be moving relative to each other.[30] The Centaurus A/M83 Group is located in the Virgo Supercluster.

Visibility

Elliptical galaxy Centaurus A and its strange globular clusters.[31]

Centaurus A is located approximately 4° north of Omega Centauri (a globular cluster visible with the naked eye).[13] Because the galaxy has a high surface brightness and relatively large angular size, it is an ideal target for amateur astronomy observations. The bright central bulge and dark dust lane are visible even in finderscopes and large binoculars,[13] and additional structure may be seen in larger telescopes.[13] Centaurus A is visible to the naked eye under exceptionally good conditions.[32]

Gallery

  • Centaurus A halo

  • The radio galaxy Centaurus A, as seen by ALMA

  • Image taken by the Wide Field Imager attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory.

  • "Hubble's panchromatic vision... reveals the vibrant glow of young, blue star clusters..."[33]

  • A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of the dust disk in front of the nucleus of Centaurus A. Credit: HST/NASA/ESA.

  • This image of the central parts of Centaurus A reveals the parallelogram-shaped remains of a smaller galaxy that was absorbed about 200 to 700 million years ago.

  • The heavily-obscured inner (barred?) spiral disk at 24 μm as shown by the Spitzer IR telescope

  • Chandra X-ray view of Cen A in X-rays showing one relativistic jet from the central black hole

  • Centaurus A.jpg
  • Moon centaurus th.jpg

    A composite image showing the size of the radio glow from the galaxy Centaurus A in comparison to the full Moon.

  • "False-colour image of Centaurus A, showing radio (red), 24-micrometre infrared (green) and 0.5-5 keV X-ray emission (blue).

  • Central part of the galaxy

  • Video about Centaurus A jets.

See also

  • Messier 87 – a giant elliptical galaxy that is also a strong radio source
  • NGC 1316 – a similar lenticular galaxy that is also a strong radio source

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120404.html
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 4U catalog browse version.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ http://astronomy-mall.com/Adventures.In.Deep.Space/aintno.htm
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Coordinates: Sky map 13h 25m 27.6s, −43° 01′ 09″

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