Centaurus A Composite Image Gallery

Centaurus A, or Cen A is a radio galaxy in the constellation Centaurus, approximately 10 million light years from Earth. These images show Cen A as viewed by four different types of telescopes.

You can view composited images by selecting the combinations you would like to see from the pull down menu on the right and then clicking the "Get Composite" button.

Cen A in the X-ray range of the spectrum. The X-ray image shows a bright source in the nucleus of the galaxy, which is probably due to a supermassive black hole. The bright jet extending out from the nucleus to the upper left is due to explosive or highly energetic activity around the black hole which ejects matter at high speeds from the vicinity of the black hole.

Cen A in the optical range of the spectrum. Optical image shows that Cen A 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.

Cen A in the infrared range of the spectrum. The infrared image gives a better view of the dust lanes, as well as the brilliance of the central source. The infrared radiation is produced by cool stars with temperatures of "only" a few thousand degrees Celsius, and by dust that has been heated to a few hundred to a thousand degrees.

Cen A in the radio range of the spectrum. The radio image shows striking jet-like structures that flare out from the center of the galaxy. These structures have been traced well beyond the galaxy out to distances of 600,000 years. The total length of the radio jet shown here is about ten arc minutes, or about 30,000 light years in length. The radio emission is produced by the synchrotron process, in which high-energy electrons radiate as they spiral around the magnetic field of the galaxy.