Centaurus A or NGC 5128 is a galaxy in the constellation of…

Centaurus A or NGC 5128 is a galaxy in the constellation of…

Centaurus A or NGC 5128 is a galaxy in the constellation of Centaurus.

The center of the galaxy contains a supermassive black hole with a mass equivalent to 55 million solar masses, 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 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

Image credit: ESO/ESA/NASA & Hubble   

Astronomy & Astrophysics