December 23, 2015

NuSTAR's View of NGC 1068

NGC 1068

Galaxy 1068 is shown in visible light and X-rays in this composite image. High-energy X-rays (magenta) captured by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, are overlaid on visible-light images from both NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The X-ray light is coming from an active supermassive black hole, also known as a quasar, in the center of the galaxy. This supermassive black hole has been extensively studied due to its relatively close proximity to our galaxy. NGC 1068 is about 47 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Roma Tre Univ
Explanation from: http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/nustars-view-of-galaxy-1068