Centaurus A: optical view of the nearest active galaxy 10/09/1999
Optical images show that NGC5128 is an elliptical galaxy with huge dust lanes across the middle of the galaxy. This has led astronomers to speculate that Cen A was the site of a merger between a small spiral galaxy and a large elliptical galaxy several hundred million years ago. The optical radiation is primarily from stars.
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Image Credit: AURA, NOAO, NSF  

Optical images show that NGC5128 is an elliptical galaxy with huge dust lanes across the middle of the galaxy. This has led astronomers to speculate that Cen A was the site of a merger between a small spiral galaxy and a large elliptical galaxy several hundred million years ago. The optical radiation is primarily from stars.

Angular size of box = 7.5 arc min, corresponding to 25,000 light years


 
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