X-ray
& Optical Image of NGC 4945
Quasars & Active Galaxies
RA 13h 05m 27.50s | Dec -49° 28' 03.00"
Centaurus
About 12 million light years
Image is 3 arcmin across (10,500 light years)
Jan 27-28, 2000 and May 28-29, 2004
57 hours 30 min (2 days 9 hours 30 min)
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ degli Studi Roma Tre/A.Marinucci et al, Optical: ESO/VLT & NASA/STScI
October 28, 2013
Related images: G0931 G9922a G9922b G1007 G1310
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ABOUT THIS IMAGE:
This
image provides a view into the central region of a galaxy that is similar
in overall appearance to our own Milky Way, but contains a much more active
supermassive black hole within the white area near the top. This galaxy,
known as NGC 4945, is only about 13 million light years from Earth and
is seen edge-on. X-rays from Chandra (blue), which have been overlaid
on an optical image from the European Space Observatory, reveal the presence
of the supermassive black hole at the center of this galaxy.
Color Code: X-ray
(low energy: Magenta, high energy: Blue); Optical (Red, Green, Blue)