Galaxy NGC 1275 in Perseus | WIYN Telescope

Galaxy NGC 1275 in Perseus | WIYN Telescope

This image shows a deep Hydrogen-alpha image of the brightest X-ray source in the sky, NGC 1275, taken by the WIYN 3.5-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona.

NGC 1275 is a type 1.5 Seyfert galaxy. Seyfert galaxies account for about 10% of all galaxies and are among the most intensely studied objects in astronomy, as they are thought to be powered by the same phenomena that occur in quasars, although they are closer and less luminous than quasars. These galaxies have supermassive black holes at their centers surrounded by accretion discs of in-falling material.

The filaments emanating from this galaxy are produced through largely unknown mechanisms, but they likely are the result of an interaction between the black hole in the center of the galaxy and the intracluster medium surrounding it. (The glowing background objects in this image are galaxies in that same galaxy cluster.)

At a distance of about 230 million light-years, this is the nearest example to Earth of such vast structures that are seen surrounding the most massive galaxies throughout the Universe.

NGC 1275 is a member of the large Perseus Cluster of galaxies. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on October 17, 1786.

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Credit: C. Conselice/Caltech and WIYN/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Release Date: July 18, 2005

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