NASA每日天文一图：The Center of Centaurus A

Astronomy Picture of the Day

2010年11月7日

The Center of Centaurus A

Credit: EJ Schreier ( AUI ) et al., Hubble , NASA ; Inset: NOAO

Explanation: A fantastic jumble of young blue star clusters, gigantic glowing gas clouds,

and imposing dark dust lanes surrounds the central region of the active galaxy Centaurus A.

This mosaic of Hubble Space Telescope images taken in blue, green, and red light has been

processed to present a natural color picture of this cosmic maelstrom. Infrared images from

the Hubble have also shown that hidden at the center of this activity are what seem to be

disks of matter spiraling into a black hole with a billion times the mass of the Sun!

Centaurus A itself is apparently the result of a collision of two galaxies and the left

over debris is steadily being consumed by the black hole . Astronomers believe that such

black hole central engines generate the radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy radiated by

Centaurus A and other active galaxies . But for an active galaxy Centaurus A is close, a

mere 10 million light-years away, and is a relatively convenient laboratory for exploring

these powerful sources of energy .

中文翻译：

Astronomy Picture of the Day

星系半人马A的核心

影像提供
: E.J. Schreier (AUI) et al., Hubble, NASA; Inset: NOAO

说明: 混乱堆积的蓝色星团、巨大辉光云气、以及壮阔的黝黑尘埃带，围绕着活跃星系半人马A

(Centaurus A)的核心区域。这一张由哈伯太空望远镜的红蓝绿三色组合影像，忠实地展现出这团宇宙乱

集团的真正颜色。

哈伯太空望远镜的红外线影像，也透露出星系半人马A核心中隐藏着十亿倍太阳质量的超大质量黑洞，而

周围吸积盘的物质似乎正沿着螺旋路径掉入中心。

星系半人马A明显地是两个星系碰撞的结果，而碰撞后所留下来的残渣正渐渐地被黑洞所吞食。天文学家

相信这种黑洞，是星系半人马A和其他活跃星系能能辐射出电波、X光以及珈玛射线的中心引擎。

然而，以活跃星系来说，半人马A离我们相当近，大约只有一千万光年远，如想要探索这类巨大能量源，

它是相对方便的实验室。