Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 1, 2026
06:46
Applying X-ray Imaging Crystal Spectroscopy for Use as a High Temperature Plasma Diagnostic
Published on: August 25, 2016
A Chandra High-Resolution X-ray Image of Centaurus A.
The Astrophysical Journal
|February 16, 2000
Summary
High-resolution X-ray imaging of Centaurus A reveals unprecedented detail in its nucleus and jet. The Chandra X-Ray Observatory observation resolved previously unseen structures, including diffuse emission between jet knots.
Area of Science:
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- High-Energy Astrophysics
- X-ray Astronomy
Background:
- Centaurus A is a prominent radio galaxy with complex X-ray emission.
- Previous observations provided limited spatial resolution for detailed analysis.
- Understanding the central engine and jet dynamics of active galactic nuclei is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present the first results from a high-resolution Chandra X-ray Observatory observation of Centaurus A.
- To resolve fine structures in the X-ray emission of Centaurus A's nucleus, jet, and surrounding regions.
- To investigate the morphology and spatial characteristics of X-ray features not previously observed.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the High-Resolution Camera on the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
- Achieved spatial resolution better than 1 arcsecond in the central field of view.
- Analyzed X-ray emission from the nucleus, jet, diffuse regions, and point sources.
Main Results:
- Resolved all previously reported major X-ray emission sources, including the nucleus, jet, and diffuse emission.
- Resolved individual knots of emission in the inner jet, revealing diffuse emission between them.
- Detected an extended nucleus (a few tenths of an arcsecond), a potential X-ray counterjet, and weak emission from the southwest radio lobe. Identified 63 point-like sources.
Conclusions:
- The high spatial resolution of Chandra enables detailed study of previously unseen X-ray features in Centaurus A.
- The resolved jet structures and extended nucleus provide new insights into the physics of active galactic nuclei.
- The detected point sources offer a sample for studying X-ray binaries and supernova remnants in a galactic environment.
More Related Videos
10:38Isolation and Fluorescence Imaging for Single-particle Reconstruction of Chlamydomonas Centrioles
Published on: September 21, 2018
08:09Microfocus X-ray CT (microCT) Imaging of Actinia equina (Cnidaria), Harmothoe sp. (Annelida), and Xenoturbella japonica (Xenacoelomorpha)
Published on: August 6, 2019
Related Concept Videos
02:39Emission Spectra
When solids, liquids, or condensed gases are heated sufficiently, they radiate some of the excess energy as light. Photons produced in this manner have a range of energies, and thereby produce a continuous spectrum in which an unbroken series of wavelengths is present.
02:18X-ray Crystallography
The size of the unit cell and the arrangement of atoms in a crystal may be determined from measurements of the diffraction of X-rays by the crystal, termed X-ray crystallography.
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
01:21Schwarzschild Radius and Event Horizon
No object with a finite mass can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. This fact has an interesting consequence in the domain of extremely high gravitational fields.
The minimum speed required to launch a projectile from the surface of an object to which it is gravitationally bound so that it eventually escapes the object’s gravitational field is called the escape velocity. The escape velocity is independent of the mass of the object. Merging the idea of escape velocity with the...
The minimum speed required to launch a projectile from the surface of an object to which it is gravitationally bound so that it eventually escapes the object’s gravitational field is called the escape velocity. The escape velocity is independent of the mass of the object. Merging the idea of escape velocity with the...
01:10Detection of Black Holes
Although black holes were theoretically postulated in the 1920s, they remained outside the domain of observational astronomy until the 1970s.
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...
01:24X-ray Imaging
German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (1845–1923) was experimenting with electrical current when he discovered that a mysterious and invisible "ray" would pass through his flesh but leave an outline of his bones on a screen coated with a metal compound. In 1895, Röntgen made the first durable record of the internal parts of a living human: an "X-ray" image (as it came to be called) of his wife’s hand. Scientists worldwide quickly began their own experiments with X-rays, and by 1900, X-ray was widely...
01:16Centroid for the Paraboloid of Revolution
The paraboloid of revolution is an axially symmetric surface generated by rotating a parabola around its axis. This shape has several applications in mechanical engineering due to its advantageous structural properties, such as strength against stress concentration points and rotational symmetry.
The centroid for the paraboloid of revolution is the point where all the mass of the paraboloid is concentrated. This centroid is important for engineering applications, as it determines how forces are...
The centroid for the paraboloid of revolution is the point where all the mass of the paraboloid is concentrated. This centroid is important for engineering applications, as it determines how forces are...