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Black-Hole-Driven Outflow From Active Galaxy NGC 1068
The nearby barred-spiral galaxy NGC 1068 serves as a proxy for helping astronomers understand the fireworks taking place at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, driven by eruptions from a supermassive black hole. Because we live inside the Milky Way, much of our view of the galaxy’s center is blocked by intervening clouds of gas and dust. But, looking 45 million light-years away at NGC 1068 gives astronomers a birds-eye view of similar black hole outbursts. The inset Hubble Space Telescope image resolves hydrogen clouds as small as 10 light-years across within 150 light-years of the core. The clouds are glowing because they are caught in a "searchlight" of radiation beamed out of the galaxy's black hole, which is larger and more active than the black hole in the heart of our galaxy.
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.2h 42m 40.99s
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.0° 0' 52.33"
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Cetus
- DistanceDistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.45 million light-years
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator. - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.WFC3, ACS/WFC, WFPC2
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.F606W, F658N, F814W
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.NGC 1068
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Active, spiral galaxy
- Release DateDecember 9, 2021
- Science ReleaseMini-Jet Found Near Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole
- CreditsNASA, ESA, Alex Filippenko (UC Berkeley), William Sparks (STScI), Luis Ho (KIAA-PKU), Matthew Malkan (UCLA), Alessandro Capetti (STScI); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample wide and narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Cyan: F606W, Orange: F814W, Red: F658N
Related Images & Videos
Diagram of Mini-Jet in Center of Milky Way Galaxy
This schematic is based on multiwavelength observations of a suspected jet from the massive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The wide view shows our galaxy edge-on, with two huge bubbles of plasma glowing in gamma-rays and X-rays. These are evidence for an...
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
