Chandra Release - May 14, 2001

Visual Description: Circinus Galaxy

The Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the Circinus galaxy is a visual representation of a spiral galaxy. In the image, there are several brightly colored spots that appear to be concentrated in the center of the galaxy. This image shows the inner portion of the Circinus galaxy, with north at the top of the image and east to the left. In terms of X-ray energies, red represents low energy, green intermediate and blue the highest observed energies. The emission is resolved into a number of distinct components, many of which are associated with a central black hole. A bright, compact emission source is present at the center of the image. That nuclear source is surrounded by a diffuse X-ray halo that extends out several hundred light years. The X-rays directly to the northwest of the nucleus appear red, indicating predominantly soft energies, while the X-rays to the southeast are blue, indicating only hard energies.