ALMA peers into the dark soul of Centaurus A

A new image of the center of the distinctive galaxy Centaurus A, made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), shows how the new observatory allows astronomers to see through the opaque dust lanes that obscure the galaxy’s center, with unprecedented quality. ALMA is currently in its Early Science phase of observations and is still under construction, but is already the most powerful telescope of its kind in the world.

This new image of Centaurus A combines ALMA and visible-light observations of the massive elliptical radio galaxy. The new ALMA observations, shown in a gradation of blue, reveal the position and motion of the clouds of gas in the galaxy. They are the sharpest and most sensitive such observations ever made. Violet and dark-blue features trace gas coming towards us while light-blue features depict gas moving away. We can see that the gas to the left of the center is moving towards us, while the gas to the right of the center is moving away from us, indicating that the gas is orbiting around the galaxy. The ALMA observations are overlaid on an optical image of Centaurus A produced by the Wide Field Imager (WFI) of the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, with a total exposure time of more than 50 hours. The three following images are partial enlargements of the above composite image. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage). Visible-light image: ESO

More than fifty hours of observation for a new ultra-deep image of Centaurus A

The strange galaxy Centaurus A is pictured in a new image from the European Southern Observatory. With a total exposure time of more than 50 hours this is probably the deepest view of this peculiar and spectacular object ever created. The image was produced by the Wide Field Imager of the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile.

The peculiar galaxy Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is pictured in this image taken with by the Wide Field Imager attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. With a total exposure time of more than 50 hours this is probably the deepest view of this peculiar and spectacular object every created. Credit: ESO