NGC5128, Centaurus A

NGC5128, Centaurus A

Downloadable versions (see NOAO Conditions of Use):
257 x 200 18 kb color JPEG(on this page)
514 x 400 60 kb color JPEG
1800 x 1400 448 kb color JPEG
1800 x 1400 2.4 Mb 8-bit color TIFF
1800 x 1400 7.4 Mb 24-bit color TIFF

An unobtrusive arc of blue stars stretching above the iconic galaxy Centaurus A represents the lingering signature of an episode of galactic cannibalism that is surprisingly recent and, astronomically speaking, quite nearby. For details, see NOAO press release 02-11, and the Johns Hopkins press release. The scientific paper is scheduled to appear in the Astronomical Journal for December 2002. A full frame view of the entire galaxy, processed in the same way and also taken from the paper, is available, as well as a true color image also taken by the CTIO Blanco 4-meter telescope.

Minimum credit line: Eric Peng (JHU), Holland Ford (JHU/STScI), Ken Freeman (ANU), Rick White (STScI), NOAO/AURA/NSF (for details see Conditions of Use)

Return to: galaxies page, elliptical galaxies page.

NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation

Comments by e-mail to images@noao.edu