The larger outer ring extends off the image and is in the plane of the galaxy's disk. At the center of the starburst rings is the Seyfert nucleus, the believed signature of a super-massive black hole that is accreting surrounding gas and dust. The detailed structure of this gas is seen as magenta-colored streamers extending towards the top of the image. In the core of the galaxy and within the inner starburst ring is what appears to be a V-shaped structure of gas. This region, which is the projection of a three-dimensional cone extending from the nucleus to the galaxy's halo, contains gas that has been heated by radiation emitted by the accreting black hole.
Ultraviolet radiation emerging from the central source excites nearby gas causing it to glow.
The excited gas is beamed into the oppositely directed cones like two giant searchlights. Since the Circinus galaxy is partially hidden by intervening dust along our line of sight, which is located close to the plane of our own Milky Way Galaxy, it remained unnoticed until about 25 years ago. The research team, led by Andrew S. Wilson of the University of Maryland, is using these visible light images along with near-infrared data to further understand the dynamics of this powerful galaxy. Space Past Weeks' News Archives - Archives of past weeks' Daily Selected News Stories. All Rights Reserved.