#active galaxy

M106 and the Peculiar Centre

Messier 106 is intermediate spiral galaxy, meaning it's between that of the Milky Way with a bar at the centre, and one that we would call a grand design, that spirals into the centre.

However, it is at the centre that this galaxy seems to be quite different to our own, with a huge amount of activity, caused by the supermassive black hole actively feeding, what is known as a type 2 Seyfert galaxy, one that is illuminated significantly by the activity of it's supermassive black hole.

If you combine X-ray view, you can see there appears to be two additional arms but not visible in the upper image. When the supermassive black hole feeds, it fires out radiation, which is significant at the microwave wavelength, and which then interacts with matter causing it to glow in x-rays.

This is the Silver Coin Galaxy! 💫💫💫

This intermediate spiral galaxy was found when famous astronomers Caroline Herschel was searching for comets in the night sky. At the center of the populated Sculptor galaxy group, this galaxy is one of the brightest and most active galaxies in the Milky Way’s vicinity! ✨✨✨

Filaments of Active Galaxy NGC 1275 

What keeps these filaments attached to this galaxy? The filaments persist in NGC 1275 even though the turmoil of galactic collisions should destroy them. First, active galaxy NGC 1275 is the central, dominant member of the large and relatively nearby Perseus Cluster of Galaxies. Wild-looking at visible wavelengths, the active galaxy is also a prodigious source of x-rays and radio emission. NGC 1275 accretes matter as entire galaxies fall into it, ultimately feeding a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's core. This composite image, recreated from archival Hubble Space Telescope data, highlights the resulting galactic debris and filaments of glowing gas, some up to 20,000 light-years long. Observations indicate that the structures, pushed out from the galaxy's center by the black hole's activity, are held together by magnetic fields. Also known as Perseus A, NGC 1275 spans over 100,000 light years and lies about 230 million light years away.

Shadow of a Black Hole

IC 5063, an active galaxy over 150 million light years from us has an eerie shadow emanating from the centre of the galaxy.  

Scientists believe it’s the shadow coming from the supermassive black hole at it’s centre. An active galaxy means the central black hole is having a steady stream of matter to ingest, in doing so, an enormous amount of radiation is released and funnelled from the poles outwards. Around the black hole is a donut shaped mass swirling around which blocks out the light and causes a cone lik;e shadow to be cast.