cosmicphotos

"The sky is the ultimate art gallery just above us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 82)
Astrophotography by Jason Jennings

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Galaxies :: NGC5128


NGC5128

 

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         Object NGC5128
         Comment Only 11 million light-years away, NGC5128 (aka Centaurus A) is the closest active galaxy to planet Earth. Spanning over 60,000 light-years, the peculiar elliptical galaxy is apparently the result of a collision between two otherwise normal galaxies resulting in a fantastic jumble of star clusters and imposing dark dust lanes. Near the galaxy's center, left over cosmic debris is steadily being consumed by a central black hole with a billion times the mass of the Sun. As in other active galaxies, that process likely generates the radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy radiated by NGC5128. Text adapted from APOD.

Image is a [Ha+L],[Ha+R]GB composite.
         Optics RCOS 12.5" F/9 (2874mm FL)
         Camera Apogee Alta F16M - 1x1 bin (image scale: .65 arcsec/pix)
         Mount Software Bisque Paramount ME
         Exposure Total exposure time: 23.5 hours
         Date June 2014

 

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