Designation |
NGC 5128, Centaurus
A, Cen A, Bennett 60 |
Object type |
Peculiar (Pec) type galaxy |
Coordinates |
13h26m - 43°01' |
Constellation |
Centaurus (Cen) |
Description |
Dramatic dust lanes that run
across the galaxy's center mark Cen A. These dust lanes are so thick
they almost completely obscure the galaxy's center in visible light.
This is particularly unusual as Cen A's red stars and round shape are
characteristic of a giant elliptical galaxy, a galaxy type usually low in
dark dust. Cen A, also known as NGC 5128, is also unusual compared
to an average elliptical galaxy because it contains a higher proportion of
young blue stars and is a very strong source of radio emission.
Evidence indicates that Cen A is likely the result of the collision of two
normal galaxies. Its 60,000 light year span fills this 14 x 21
arcmin field of view. Centauraus A is the closest
active galaxy: together with NGC 4945 and M 83, it
forms part of a small group of galaxies 13 million lightyears away.
Here is a wide field view
taken with a 6" (155mm) refractor telescope.
|
Exposure |
LRGB 120:90:90:90 min @ -15°C,
RGB binned 2x2 |
Camera |
SBIG ST-10XE selfguided + CFW8
with Astrodon Tru-Balance LRGB filter set. |
Optics |
RCOS 14.5" Ritchey-Chrétien
with AP 0.67X reducer working at f/6.56 |
Mount |
Astro-Physics AP1200GTO |
Software |
MaxIm DL/CCD, DeBloomer, Sigma Pre Beta 11,
Adobe
Photoshop CS |
Location - Date - Time |
San Esteban (Chile) - 20Mar04 @ 08:00
UTC |
Conditions |
Transparency 6, Seeing 7, Temperature
+14°C |