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Fermi Maps an Active Galaxy’s ‘Smokestack Plumes’

If our eyes could see radio waves, the nearby galaxy Centaurus A (also known as NGC 5128) would be one of the biggest and brightest objects in the sky, nearly 20 times the apparent size of a full moon.

Fermi’s Large Area Telescope resolved high-energy gamma rays from an extended region around the active galaxy Centaurus A. Located 12 million light-years away, it is one of the closest active galaxies. The emission corresponds to million-light-year-wide radio-emitting gas thrown out by the galaxy’s supersized black hole.

It takes the addition of radio data (orange) to fully appreciate the scale of Cen A’s giant radio-emitting lobes, which stretch more than 1.4 million light-years. Their gamma-ray output is more than ten times greater than their radio output. Gamma-rays from Fermi’s Large Area Telescope (purple) and an image of the galaxy in visible light are also included in this composite.

Fermi cataloged hundreds of blazars and other types of active galaxies in its first year. Before its mission ends, that number may reach several thousand. But because Cen A is so close, so large and so vigorous, it may be the only active galaxy Fermi will view this way.

Source: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center