Hubble Captures Highly Energetic Galaxy NGC 547
In the constellation Cetus, located about 250 million light-years from Earth, sits the elliptical galaxy NGC 547. This galaxy is the subject of a stunning image the NASA Hubble Space Telescope captured. The photograph reveals NGC 547 shining brightly just below the center of the frame, with its companion galaxy NGC 545 visible near the upper left. Together, these two galaxies are known as Arp 308.
NGC 547 is not just any ordinary galaxy but a bright radio galaxy. This means it has radio emission regions that extend far beyond its visible structure. The lobes of radio emission are powered by jets that originate from the active galactic nucleus (AGN) at the galaxy’s center.
AGNs are found at the cores of galaxies that contain supermassive black holes. As matter, such as dust and gas, falls into the black hole, emitting light across the electromagnetic spectrum. This causes AGNs to be some of the brightest sources of light in the universe.
Hubble Space Telescope Observation
Radio galaxies, in particular, are some of the most energetic objects in the universe. This is why the Hubble Space Telescope has observed NGC 547 as part of a survey for a dataset meant to help test scientific theories about AGNs.
In summary, NGC 547 is an elliptical galaxy part of a pair of galaxies known as Arp 308. It is a bright radio galaxy with radio emission regions extending far beyond its visible structure. This emission is powered by jets originating from the AGN at its center, a supermassive black hole. The Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image of NGC 547 as part of a survey for a dataset meant to help test scientific theories about AGNs, one of the universe’s most energetic astrophysical phenomena.
Read the original article on PHYS.
Read more: Hackers Install Malware Instead of Promised AI.
