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> Galaxy Centaurus A seen in infrared
Galaxy Centaurus A seen in infrared
author: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/Novapix
reference: a-gax51-28010
Image Size 300 DPI: 13 * 10 cm
The elliptical galaxy located 13 million light-years from Earth, Centaurus A is one of the brightest sources of radio waves in the sky. These radio waves indicate the presence of a supermassive black hole, which may be "feeding" off the leftover galactic meal. A high-speed jet of gas can be seen shooting above the plane of the galaxy (the faint, fuzzy feature pointing from the center toward the upper left). Jets are a common feature of galaxies, and this one is probably receiving an extra boost from the galactic remnant. This infrared Spitzer space telescope image reveals the structure of the central dust band.
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