Thomas Goertel (Space Telescope Science Institute)

Centaurus A, also known as NGC 5128, is a galaxy near our own Milky Way. Astronomers have shown that it is in the process of consuming another, smaller galaxy. This interaction appears to be funneling galactic material into a supermassive black hole hidden at the center of Centaurus A. This movie combines observational data with artistic imagination to show what the space near the black hole might look like.

Active galactic nuclei

Using infrared instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have observed a twisted disk of hot gas swept up in the gravitational whirlpool of Centaurus A. The supermassive black hole is hundreds of millions of times more massive than our Sun and has assembled a twisted disk of super-hot gas around it. Like a wheel wobbling around a loose axle, this active galactic nucleus fires an energetic jet of material into space. This ejected light glows in X-rays and radio waves and is blasted from the black hole in excess of 10 million miles per hour.

Gordon Myers

Space Telescope Science Institute

Sun-like stars reach the end of their lives after they have consumed most of the hydrogen in their cores. They enter the red giant phase of their life, and eventually collapse into a white dwarf. During this transition, these stars often eject a shell of thin matter that forms a planetary nebula. These are some of the most beautiful and unusual looking objects in the Universe. Many show symmetric lobes like an hourglass which form at the poles of the star.

How do planetary nebulae form?

This movie combines scientific images with an artist's imagination, showing one possible mechanism for the formation of these types of planetary nebulae. A key clue comes from the gas flowing out from the center of the nebula. The gas is ejected in what astronomers call jets at over 700,000 miles per hour (1.1 million kilometers per hour). From telescopic observations, we also know that the central star in some of these nebulae is one of a very closely orbiting pair; one star may even be engulfed by the other's gaseous stellar atmosphere.

Forming jets

Astronomers theorize that the gravity of one star pulls some of the gas from the surface of the other and funnels it into a thin, dense disk extending into space. The disk acts like a nozzle, pushing the stellar wind into the jets. This is similar to the process that takes place in a jet engine on a commercial airliner.

Gordon Myers