The Nearby Circinus Galaxy: A Bright Galactic Core | Hubble Space Telescope

The Nearby Circinus Galaxy: A Bright Galactic Core | Hubble Space Telescope

The Circinus Galaxy (also known as ESO 97-G13) is a Type II Seyfert galaxy in the constellation of Circinus. A Type 2 Seyfert galaxy is a type of active galactic nucleus (AGN) that has a bright, compact core. Active galactic nuclei are active supermassive black holes that emit bright jets and winds, and shape their galaxies. Located four degrees below the Galactic plane, and at a distance of 13 million light years, the Circinus Galaxy is one of the closest known active galaxies to the Milky Way. The galaxy is undergoing tumultuous changes, as rings of gas are likely being ejected from the galaxy. Its outermost ring is 1,400 light-years across while the inner ring is 260 light-years across. 

Seyfert galaxies are quite similar to normal galaxies like our own Milky Way except in one critical aspect—their nuclei are fantastically bright and can be as luminous as 100 billion suns. By contrast, the center of the Milky Way shines like about ten million suns. Astronomers think that these huge energies are being generated in Seyfert nuclei not by normal stars, but by material falling on massive black holes. Matter falling towards the vicinity of the black hole heats up due to friction, radiating intense ultraviolet light (along with radiation at other wavelengths). The Milky Way also has a massive black hole at its center, but for reasons that are not well understood our galactic center is not particularly bright compared to its star-filled spiral arms. At the opposite extreme, quasars are galaxies with very faint stars—almost undetectable—yet their nuclei glow intensely.

Although the Circinus galaxy can be seen using a small telescope, it was not noticed until 1977 because it lies close to the plane of the Milky Way and is obscured by galactic dust.

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Image Processing: Judy Schmidt (geckzilla)
Release Date: March 29, 2018

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