Centaurus A
Centaurus A is a massive and relatively nearby elliptical radio galaxy. This image combines ALMA millimeter radio and visible-light observations. The ALMA observations, shown in a gradation of blue, reveal the position and motion of the clouds of gas orbiting around inside galaxy. The motion of the gas in the galaxy causes slight changes to this wavelength, due to the Doppler effect, and is shown in this image as changes in color. Violet and dark-blue features trace gas coming towards us while cyan features depict gas moving away. The ALMA observations are overlaid on an optical image of Centaurus A produced by the Wide Field Imager (WFI) of the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at ESOs La Silla Observatory in Chile.
| Observatory: | Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Cerro Tololo, Chile |
|---|---|
| Telescope: | CTIO 0.9-Meter |
| Instrument: | Tek 2048 #3 |
| Astronomer: | ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage). Visible-light image: ESO |
| Date of Observation: | 08-11-2011 |
| Filters and Assigned Colors: | ALMA: CO J=2-1 230 GHz (violet to cyan) |
| Exposure Times: | 50 hours (total) |
| Location of Image: | Centaurus |
| Field of View: | 10.6 x 7.2 arcmin |
| Orientation: | North is up, East is to the left |
| Link to Larger Image | |
| Link to Full Resolution Image | |
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