Spectacular Hubble view of Centaurus A
Centaurus A, also known as NGC 5128, is well known for its dramatic dusty lanes of dark material. Hubble’s new observations, using its most advanced instrument, the Wide Field Camera 3, are the most detailed ever made of this galaxy. They have been combined here in a multi-wavelength image which reveals never-before-seen detail in the dusty portion of the galaxy.
As well as features in the visible spectrum, this composite shows ultraviolet light, which comes from young stars, and near-infrared light, which lets us glimpse some of the detail otherwise obscured by the dust.
Credit:
NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgment: R. O’Connell (University of Virginia) and the WFC3 Scientific Oversight Committee
About the Image
| Id: | heic1110a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 16 June 2011, 15:00 |
| Related releases: | heic1110 |
| Size: | 4027 x 4174 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Centaurus A, NGC 5128 |
| Type: | • Local Universe : Galaxy • Local Universe : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole • Galaxies Images/Videos |
| Distance: | 11 million light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical B |
438 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 |
| Optical B |
502 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 |
| Optical V |
487 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 |
| Optical V |
547 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 |
| Optical 673 |
Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 | |
| Optical 657 |
Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 | |
| Infrared I |
814 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 |
